


Harvest Moon

by phlebotinxm



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Canon Divergence - Episode: s03e05 4722 Hours, F/M, FitzSimmons - Freeform, Mutual Pining, Season/Series 03, Unplanned Pregnancy, What-If
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-04
Updated: 2020-05-17
Packaged: 2021-03-01 22:42:10
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 28,385
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23994685
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/phlebotinxm/pseuds/phlebotinxm
Summary: “Dinner.”Jemma sighed. “Fast approaching, yes. And we’ll eat it, I’m sure.”“Yeah, no, no, no.” Fitz’ breath caught, his eyes falling at his feet. “But me and you-- Maybe we could eat somewhere else, somewhere nice.”If only she'd just followed him right here and then.-(Yet another canon-divergence on the episode 4722 hours).
Relationships: Leo Fitz/Jemma Simmons, Will Daniels & Jemma Simmons
Comments: 16
Kudos: 75





	1. Jemma

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone! 
> 
> Well, I'm back in the Fitzsimmons fandom with this little (not so little) thing I just wrote in one go. I literally never wrote that much in so little time, so here are 14k words of my crazy take on the episode 4722 hours. I do hope this has never been done before, as I am new to the fandom and certainly haven't read much fanfics yet!
> 
> This chapter is focused on Jemma's POV in Maveth. The second will focus on Fitz's POV on Earth.
> 
> I hope you'll enjoy this! as always, I have certainly made a lot of mistakes since English is not my first language, and I apologize about that. x

“Dinner.”

Jemma sighed. “Fast approaching, yes. And we’ll eat it, I’m sure.” 

“Yeah, no, no, no.” Fitz’ breath caught, his eyes falling at his feet. “But me and you-- Maybe we could eat somewhere else, somewhere nice.” 

Fitz didn’t exactly take her by surprise, yet she still felt her hands shake slightly as soon as the words passed his lips. When she looked up, he was staring at her with  _ that _ look, that look she knew but too well. That look that had brought them here in the first place, that look that had broken her heart at the bottom of the ocean and the one making her stomach clench with something she wasn’t ready to talk about just yet. 

“Oh.”

She pursed her lips to prevent herself from laughing as he all but stumbled on the thing he was leaning against, nervous and uncoordinated. He’d gotten so much better in the last few weeks, and she couldn't help but smile proudly everytime she thought about how far he’d come. No amount of regrets and past mistakes would ever tarnish the admiration she had for this man. 

“Uh, well, you.. you should come find me when you’re finished here and I’ll… start working on options to run by you… for that.” Fitz managed, voice slightly shaky with both excitation and nervousness. 

Jemma bit the inside of her cheek. Of course he remembered how much she liked to organize things, and he’d never take the decision without her. Her heart clenched in a familiar yet comfortable way as he walked away, a smile slowly spreading on her face. Maybe tonight was the night, she told herself. Maybe they would finally talk about that thing they liked to avoid thinking about, both of them too afraid to lose one another if they did. It had been over a month (seven weeks, two days and eleven hour, a traitorous voice sang at the back of her head), and they’d just gotten used to looking at each other in the eyes again. Maybe tonight was the night, she repeated herself. 

Walking around the place to wrap things up, Jemma’s eyes fell on the glass case surrounding the monolith. As soon as she saw the opened door, she sighed. 

“Ugh. What an idiot.” she mumbled to herself, raising her hands to close it. 

It took her a couple of seconds to realize what was happening when she fell, a cry escaping her lips as she stumbled to find purchase on the floor. The black goo of the stone wrapped itself around her middle section, cold and unforgiving, and it took all but a handful of seconds for her to be swallowed entirely by it. Dark surrounded her as she choked on her own saliva, unable to breathe, and the warm yet dry sensation of a hot summer night soon hit her skin as she fell on her side in the sand. For a scientist, Jemma was not proud to admit that it took her painfully long seconds to realize that something was awfully wrong as she pushed herself on her arms, looking at her surroundings. Then, just as quickly when she realized that the portal was closing, she ran towards it as fast as she could. 

“No, Fitz!!” she screamed as it closed in front of her very eyes, fingers digging in the sand almost painfully. “Help, no!” 

But there was no trace of the portal, the monolith or even of Fitz. Out of habit, Jemma reached out to take her phone out of her back pocket and immediately unlocked it. 

**GPS SATELLITES NOT FOUND.**

Jemma blinked once, then twice. “Where the hell am I?”

**_0 Hours._ **

Without losing sight of the place where the portal had appeared, Jemma spotted a hill not far from the place she’d arrived. As much as she wanted to stay right where she was, her view of the planet was completely hidden by this amount of sand in front of her. There was no way she could assess the situation without climbing there, at least to get an idea of the terrain around her. Without further thinking, she started running towards it, climbing the rocky ground quickly. She fell once, grunting as her knee hit the sand, leaving a dirty trace on her pants. When she was finally on top, the wind howling around her, it took her a couple of seconds to take in whatever she was she was looking at. 

“No” she whispered. “That’s not possible.” 

In front of her, two moons hung high in the blueish sky, revealing a barren land scattered with rocks and other stones. 

**_6 hours._ **

“Everything will be fine” Jemma repeated for what felt like the hundredth time. “Proper protocol for agent lost in the field. Remain in position, wait for extraction.” 

She paced around the place where the portal had appeared, now completely erased by sand and other dusty rocks. She felt hot, and slightly nauseous, but it wasn’t any different from her early mornings since a few weeks. Grabbing her phone again, she hit the recording button and raised it to her mouth.

“This is Doctor Jemma Simmons, updating the file on the monolith Fitz and I have been studying. I now know that it is an alternating matter-transportation device, portal. Quite remarkable, really. I’ve been transported to an unknown planet in a different solar system.”

She took a deep breath, wincing slightly at the way it felt so different from Earth’s oxygen. It felt like those rainy days in England, when the air felt heavy and wet as it sliced through her lungs when she was just a kid.

“Air is breathable, oxygenated” she kept going, looking down at her feet before taking a few jumps. “Gravity seems to be slightly stronger… or i’m very tired.”

She swallowed past the lump on her throat.  _ If only it was just that _ , she thought bitterly to herself. She jumped again, just to make sure, and to shut up the voice at the back of her mind. 

“No, I think it’s the gravity.” She turned around, looking around her. “The terrain is barren, desert-like.” 

She snapped a few pictures, thinking about Fitz’s face when he’d see the two moons. 

“Although” she kept going, “conditions seem favorable for terrestrial organisms, there’s no immediate sign of life nro any noticeable vegetation or water.” 

Then, to herself more than anything else, she nodded.

“It will open again. Fitz will find a way. After all, we’re going for dinner.” 

**_13 hours._ **

She didn’t know how long she’d been sitting with her legs crossed, but she did know that it had been 13 hours since the portal had dropped her on this strange planet. She kept on throwing rocks in front of her, watching the way they rolled in the sand with barely concealed boredom. Eventually, she grabbed her phone again, opening her camera roll. 

“What is it you always say?” she asked softly, looking at the picture of Fitz she’d taken a couple of months before  _ the _ incident. “If you can’t solve a problem, sleep on it.” 

She then took off her blazer, wincing at the soreness she could already feel in her shoulders. The fall from the portal hadn’t been kind, and her already tired and changing body would remind itself to her soon enough with those bruises. Then, she arranged herself on her side, barely concealing a groan of discomfort as she laid on the barren and uncomfortable soil, holding her phone close. 

“Goodnight, Fitz.” she whispered before closing her eyes. 

_ “Come on” Fitz said, the teasing smile she loved so much stretching his lips as he looked at her from above his bottle of beer. “I know you kissed him. I saw the way you looked at him!”  _

_ “I did no such thing!” Jemma huffed around her own bottle, gaze falling on her knees.  _

_ They were seated on her bed, at the playground. She remembered this night, how could she not?  _

_ “At least Milton was a tiny bit intelligent” Fitz kept going, ignoring the way she’d blushed. “But Larry?” he scoffed.  _

_ “You never liked Larry”  _

_ “Of course I never liked Larry! He was an ass.”  _

_ “He was not!” Jemma interjected, throwing her hands in the air. “You never liked any of my boyfriends.” _

_ Silence immediately followed her accusation, and Jemma looked up just in time to see Fitz bend his head in shame.  _

_ “Oh” she whispered.  _

_ How couldn’t she notice before? He’d truly never liked any of her boyfriends. And now, she knew why. Ever since she came back from her undercover mission at Hydra, they didn’t talk about what he’d told her at the bottom of the ocean. Stupidly maybe, Jemma had assumed that Fitz’s feelings were new, but she had never once considered the possibility that maybe, he’d looked at her as more than a friend since the Academy.  _

_ “How… how long?” she asked, almost shily.  _

_ “I don’t know what you’re talking about” Fitz tried, quite miserably. _

_ “How long have you… felt this way? For me?”  _

_ She thought he would ignore her question, eyes still avoiding hers as he played with the rim of his bottle. The air around them was heavier now, and she took a few calming breaths to calm her racing heart.  _

_ “Since the Academy” he finally admitted. “Since the first time you outsmarted me.”  _

_ It felt like a punch in the stomach, to hear this coming from his mouth. She’d never once suspected, before the ocean. Maybe she was a little naive, but she’d always thought that he considered her a sister at most, just like she considered him her best friend. She’d never really thought about it before the pod and the incident, but she wasn’t ready to admit that she had too started to look at him a little differently since she’d came back from her undercover mission. It wasn’t pity, and it wasn’t mercy either, but she had forced herself not to think about it too deeply. It was enough to feel the butterfly fluttering in her chest as he smiled at her from across the lab, proud of his progress as he slowly but surely fell back into his old patterns.  _

_ “I didn’t know” Jemma finally said. “Fitz, I…”  _

_ “It’s alright, Jem” he said, showing her a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “I didn’t want you to know, anyway.”  _

_ He moved to get up, putting the bottle on her nightstand to get out of the bed -she sometimes forgot that his left hand wasn’t fully functional again, and even less when he was nervous- when she stopped him with a hand on his shoulder.  _

_ “Jemma” he started, defeated.  _

_ But before he could say anything else, she pushed her lips against his.  _

**_22 hours._ **

Jemma awoke with a gasp, jumping on her feet. She ignored the way her lips still tingled at the memory, and cursed at her brain for betraying her. She’d pushed back this memory to the deepest corner of her mind for a reason. 

“How long are the nights on this planet?” she asked, defeated. 

She went back to the top of the hill she’d climbed a little earlier, noticing that one of the moons had moved. 

“There has to be a sunrise eventually.” she reasoned. 

**_71 hours._ **

“Where is the sun?!” Jemma yelled, feeling tears well up in her eyes. “What did you do to it? I want the sun! I want it!” 

She couldn’t hold back her sobs anymore, putting her head in her hands as she let herself go, kneeling on the dusty land as she sniffled. 

“I want to go home.” she whined, feeling nausea overcome her. 

**_79 hours._ **

“The average person can survive up to three weeks without food” she reasoned, talking to her phone again. If she’d spend more time than she should have staring at the picture of Fitz she had on her phone gallery, no one would ever know. “but only 100 hours without water.” 

She ripped her shirt off, using one of the strands to hold back her hair and one to cover her neck. Her lips were already cracking, her throat dry and she could feel her skin hitch due to the sandy land. Her nausea had long passed, thankfully, but it didn’t reassure her one bit. She’d eventually have to think about that thing she kept pushing back to the corner of her mind, but first she had to find something to drink. And eat, preferably. 

“I’m sorry Fitz” she said as she passed her makeshift bag around her shoulders, “I can’t wait here any longer.” She took off her necklace, the one she liked to wear since the academy, and put it on one of the stones forming an arrow pointing at the place she was about to explore “but if you do show up while I’m away, you’ll know where to find me.” 

**_81 hours._ **

“Is it going to be an expensive place?” she asked herself, picturing Fitz as she placed a few other stones in a makeshift statue, knowing that Fitz would recognize her handiwork. “Have you already picked it? Should I wear a dress, or would that be weird? Oh please, don’t pull out the chair for me.” 

She ignored the way her stomach clenched with hunger, waves of nausea making her knees wobbly for a while. 

“Or do, if that’s what you want.” 

She sneaked out a look at her phone again, caressing the screen. 

**_87 hours._ **

“What if we run out of things to talk about, for the first time ever? Of course that’s when it would happen” Jemma kept going “that would be terrible.”

On the next step, her foot caught on a stone, and she screamed as she fell, landing on her side. Panic caught her all of a sudden as she pressed a steady hand to her stomach. 

**_99 hours._ **

Her tired arms barely held her body as she crawled on yet another sandy hill, hoping to find water at its top. She’d been walking for hours now, and hunger and nausea had let place to tiredness and despair. Jemma wasn’t sure she could go on any longer, and when the thought terrified her, it also brought her a certain peace of mind. 

“Just… get to the top…” she whispered as an encouragement to herself. “Water…” 

Finally, she was able to hoist herself to the top, and she took a look at the other side. In front of her, what looked like a wave of sand was heading straight towards her. She barely had time to take cover before it all went black. 

_ “Jemma” Fitz breathed as he pulled back, eyes wide and panicked.  _

_ She was back at the Playground with Fitz. Her lips were still slightly wet from Fitz’s mouth, the way he’d parted his lips around a gasp as she’d kissed him, tongue hot and demanding. The kiss had left them both breathless, until Fitz had pulled back as if he’d been burned.  _

_ “What are you doing?”  _

_ “Kissing you” Jemma replied immediately, feeling hot all over.  _

_ “Jemma--” _

_ “Fitz” Jemma whined, fingers twisting in the fabric of Fitz’s sleep shirt. “please, I need… I need you.”  _

_ Somehow, even though they both knew it was a very bad idea, they soon found themselves on their sides, limbs tangled as they kissed until their heads spinned. Jemma’s shirt was pushed up, Fitz’s hands massaging her breasts. She’d been in what served as pjs, which consisted of a shirt and loose sweatpants, and she thanked all heavens that Fitz wore similarly the same thing. Jemma had a leg thrown around Fitz’s hips, and they rocked together like teenagers.  _

_ “Jemma” Fitz whined, breaking their kiss to suckle on her neck. “God, Jemma, we should… we should stop.”  _

_ Jemma shook her head, letting out an obscene moan when he shifted just enough for his lips to find her nipple. “Don’t stop, Fitz. Please, don’t stop.” _

_ Her entire body was on fire, and she didn’t remember being so wet and sensitive with anyone else ever. Each drag of Fitz’s hardening length around her core felt like heaven even through their sweatpants, and the wetness of his mouth around her nipples as he sucked at them made her arch.  _

_ “Fitz, more” she whispered, letting go of his hair as he nibbled at her breast to slide it between their bodies, and into Fitz’s pants.  _

_ “Jemma” he gasped, letting go of her right nipple to look up at her. “Are you sure--”  _

_ He was cut by her firm hand as she started stroking him, her eyes never leaving his face. Under the intensity of her gaze, he couldn’t help but close his eyes, muffling his cries in Jemma’s shoulder as his hips moved in rhythm with her hand.  _

_ “We shouldn’t do this” Jemma whispered around a moan when Fitz finally found enough strength to caress her breasts again. “Oh, God.”  _

_ Ignoring her the way she’d ignored him earlier, Fitz slid a hand down her pants and inside of her underwear, fingers finding her clit immediately. The little bundle of nerve was wet and swollen, as were the lips of her labia, and he muffled another moan against Jemma’s skin. With a movement of her hips, she allowed him to slide two of his fingers in her, and they moaned in unisson.  _

_ “God, Jemma” Fitz said, head spinning with want as she clenched around him. “I want you so bad.”  _

_ “Want you too” she rasped as their gaze met again.  _

_ Their mouth clashed in a messy kiss, full of tongue and teeth. It was Jemma who let go of Fitz’s cock first to push his sweatpants and boxer briefs down his legs, just enough to take out his dick. Wordlessly, he did the same with her sweatpants and underwear and she pulled back just long enough to wriggle out of them. She should have felt a lot more shy as his adoring gaze took her in from head to toes, but there was nothing but pure want in both their eyes. On a silent but common decision, Fitz rolled on his back as Jemma straddled him, her chore immediately finding his hard member as she rolled her hips against him once, then twice.  _

_ “Jemma, please” Fitz asked in a broken voice, blue pupils almost entirely swallowed by the black of his desire.  _

_ What was the point of waiting? Reaching out between their bodies, she positioned herself above Fitz and slid down steadily.  _

_ “Oh god, Fitz” she whispered immediately. _

_ He felt so good inside of her, like he’d always belonged there. And with the way his face twisted in pleasure, she was sure he felt it, too.  _

_ “Condom” he finally rasped as he bottomed out, Jemma rolling her hips slowly as she got used to the size of another person inside of her. it had been so long.  _

_ “No need” Jemma said, clenching around him. “Want you.”  _

_ Somehow, they both knew it wasn’t a good enough reason for them to keep going.They were responsible adults, both of them, with a serious position in a super secret agency. But they did. Fitz’s head nearly knocked against the headboard as he threw his head back, moaning shamelessly as she finally started to ride him. His grip on Jemma’s hips was firm but gentle at the same time, and Jemma gently brought one of his one good hand to her breast. _

_ “I’ve seen the way you look at them” she rasped, acting way more confidently that she felt inside.  _

_ He might have been blushing, but he was already so red she couldn’t tell. Inside of her, she could sworn she’d felt his dick twitch, though. Without a word, he started massaging her breast firmly, her nipples hardening under his clever fingers. It was almost obscene, the way they were still partially dressed, the hem of her shirt covering half of his hand as she moved. Against her ass, she could feel his own sweatpants barely pushed out of the way, and his own white shirt clung to his skin as he ran hot.  _

_ “You’re so beautiful Jemma” he whispered, clenching his teeth. “So gorgeous, it’s almost unreal.” _

_ It didn’t take long for them to stumble upon the edge. As opposed to most of Jemma’s exes, Fitz actually cared about her own release as he used his free hand to rub at her clit gently, gathering her wetness to circle the little bundle of nerve just the way she liked. She was the first to come, clenching around him as she let out a soft cry, and he followed soon after. She had the presence of mind to be a little panicked as she felt him come inside of her, but the look on his eyes as he let go was enough to make her forget as she bent over and kiss him senseless.  _

_ Later on, when she rolled over and put on her sweatpants in silence, she rubbed her fingers through the drying come on her inner thigh when he wasn’t looking. Fitz had grabbed his beer after getting dressed, swallowing the rest of it in one go, before turning around to face her.  _

_ “We.. We shouldn’t have done that” he said quickly, avoiding her gaze. “I don’t… I can’t do that.”  _

_ He didn’t need to say more, because Jemma’s heart was already breaking in two. She looked at her lap, and when she looked up again, he was gone.  _

**_101 hours._ **

Jemma woke up with a mouth full of sand. The storm had it her with its full force, and she didn’t have the strength to fight it. 

“Fitz” she rasped, “Oh, Fitz.”

In front of her, a few meters away, was a very small lake. She clumsily ran towards it, falling a few times as she went, before letting herself lay on the ground right next to the water source. She didn’t even think twice about the state of the water and all the diseases it could contain, plunging her hands in it as she brought it to her mouth. She let out a few chuckles as she drank, disgusted by the taste but oh so grateful at the same time, before rolling on her back and laughing until her laugh turned into full sobs. 

**_109 hours._ **

Jemma had gotten undressed quickly, the sand in her clothes hitching as she stared at the water and realized she could actually take a bath for the first time since she’d arrived on this planet. The first sensation of the lukewarm water on her feet felt like heaven, and soon she was submerged almost entirely, giggling as she let herself float. 

Until something caught her foot. 

Jemma yelled as she was pulled at the bottom of the lake, kicking and screaming to get off as she finally caught a sight of the creature wrapped around her leg. Finally, she was able to get out of the water just enough to grab the first thing she found to cut it off, grunting as the creature tried to fight back. Eventually, breathless, she was able to run away and stare at the white slimy thing she’d cut off her body. 

**_111 hours._ **

Grimacing, Jemma brought the fish (was it technically a fish? she couldn't, and didn’t want to know) to her mouth with a sigh. As soon as her teeth digged into its gelatinous flesh, she bit back another wave of nausea and forced herself to swallow it all, coughing around her mouthful. 

**_492 hours._ **

“It’s been three weeks, Fitz” she murmured, looking down at the phone. Her fingers were trembling with exhaustion, and she curled around herself a little more. “If I don’t find something… if I don’t eat, I won’t make it. Unfortunately the only source of food also thinks I’m food.”

She had time to make a weapon, in the three weeks she’d spent around the lake. It wasn’t much, but it was enough to cut pieces of the thing that lived in the water, if she ever managed to caught it. Grabbing it firmly and ignoring the way her hand trembled, Jemma stepped foot into the water.

“You want me?” she yelled. “Here I am! It’s dinnertime, come and get it!” 

She had barely spoken the words before she was pulled by the leg again, the creature’s teeth digging into her flesh painfully as she fell into the water. This time, however, she was prepared. When she got out of the water, it was with the dead creature firmly in hand. 

“You’re dinner, biatch!” she screamed, jumping in victory. “Whoo!” 

After making a fire (she was pretty proud of herself on this one, and she may have cried a little, too), she ate a little more whatever-that-creature-was-fish. Admittedly, it tasted a little better cooked. 

“You’d be so proud of me, Fitz” she said to her phone, “I killed the monster plant, then I made a fire, cooked him and ate him. And then I burped, really loud” she laughed, a little hysterically. “I wish you could’ve been here.” 

She caught herself, looking around.

“Actually” she said a little more softly, “No I don’t. I wouldn't wish that on anyone.” 

She fell silent for a little while, listening to the sound of the wind around her, and the soft movement of the water crashing against the shore of the lake. 

“Everyone always said we could read each other’s minds, Fitz. So I really need you to read mine, right now. I’m alive” she chuckled, “but I’m terribly alone and afraid. So I really need you to come get me, OK? I know you won’t give up. So I won’t, either.” 

Jemma swallowed back a sob. 

“I need you to come get  _ us _ , Fitz.” 

Her hand curled against her stomach, the slight bump there growing more and more every passing day. 

**_752 hours._ **

She’d eaten most of the fish, now. It wasn’t so bad, once you got over the initial slimy feeling. 

“You’ll notice I’m giving less updates to conserve battery power” Jemma told her phone, turning on the recording. “I’ve been on this stupid planet for a month now, and I lost my way to the entry point. I need to find--”

She was cut by a weird resonating sound she’d never heard before, made by the wooden sticks jutting out of the floor a few meters away from the lake. Grabbing her makeshift weapon, she got up to investigate the source of the noise with care, one small step after the other. It turned out that the noise was created by the wind rustling through the wooden sticks, making them hit one another, and she sighed. But just as she turned around to go back to the water, the floor gave up from under her feet. She couldn’t help but let out a scream as she fell, her back hitting a pile of sand in the hole she’d fallen. She had the presence of mind to curl around herself as she lay on her back, feeling herself slip into unconsciousness rapidly. 

**_761 hours._ **

When Jemma woke up, it was to the sound of a fire crackling not far from her. As soon as she opened her eyes though, fighting the resounding headache she could already feel forming behind her eyes, she realized that something had changed. Sitting up as fast as she could with her aching back and vertigo, Jemma looked around her. She’d been put in a cage, the thick wooden bars unmoving as she pushed against them, panting heavily. At her feet, two bowls had been disposed, one with water and one with what resembled food. It wasn’t in Jemma’s initial habits to be careful with everything, but this planet had had its fair share of surprises and she wasn’t ready to let her guard down that fast. Sniffling the bowls, she hesitated as her stomach rumbled loudly. 

But just as she was starting to get tempted by the food, she saw a figure move not far from the cage. 

“Who are you?” she asked immediately, taking a few steps back. “What do you want?” 

She curled herself against the corner of the cage, her belly hidden from the mysterious creature’s view. 

It stayed silent, and eventually left. 

**_783 hours._ **

Jemma had been alone for hours now. Her bladder was painfully full, courtesy of the water she’d drank before falling into that mess. Her swollen belly only added to the uncomfortable pressure, but she was too wary to pee, afraid that the creature would come back as soon as she was in a vulnerable position. Just as she was starting to weight her possibilities -she felt like her bladder was going to explode; she heard the creature come back.

From where it stood, it looked suspiciously like a man. Jemma could see the side of his face, obscured by a thick beard as he looked at her. 

“You’re still here” the man said, dubfound. 

“Of course I’m still here!” Jemma replied, holding back a snarl. “Let me out of here!” 

She got up, approaching the side of the cage. “Let me out of here, now!” 

But the man had turned around, and he soon disappeared towards where he’d come from. This time, Jemma didn’t hide her sobs, letting go of the pressure for a little while. As soon as her cheeks were dry of any tears, she found the darkest corner of the cage to relieve herself, holding back a groan of satisfaction once the pressure in her bladder was gone. Exhaustion and soreness completely erased any shame she could have felt at the idea of pissing like a dog in a cage, and she eventually laid back on her side a little further away, facing the place she knew the man would come back through. 

**_824 hours._ **

Jemma had tried to keep a physical activity as soon as possible when she’d arrived on the planet. Its different gravity had caused her muscles to be sore more than once, and she knew she would have to defend herself if anything happened to her. Which was why she was currently doing pull ups in the cage, groaning with each pull on her shaky arms. Her belly wasn’t that heavy yet, but she could definitely feel the difference with every movement. 

Soon though, the man was back. 

“Welcome back” she sassed, letting go of the bars to fall back on her feet. “How was your day?”

When he didn’t reply, she sighed. 

“My name is Jemma Simmons. Dr Jemma Simmons. I’m from Earth, and I came here through a portal. And since you speak English, I suspect you might have, as well.” 

The man came a little closer, and this time Jemma was able to take a proper look at him. He was from Earth, there was no doubt, and he looked… extremely worn out. She kept a safe distance between herself and the cage, noting the wooden bar in his hand as he stared at her. 

“If you let me out” Jemma said, softly. “I can help you. We can help each other.” 

She let out a scream when the man hit her with the stick in the shoulder, making her step back. By reflex, she curled around herself and raised her hands to protect her middle section, looking at him as he put another bowl of food in front of her. 

“You’re going to eat me!” she yelled, keeping her distances. “Is that what this is all about? You fatten me up and then leave me to the slaughter!” 

The man got back up. “Not a bad idea.” he rasped, taking a few steps back.

Jemma didn’t have much time to think. Throwing a glance at the plate, she looked up at the man once again. She had an idea. 

**_851 hours._ **

Letting out a loud groan of pain, Jemma curled on herself on the floor of the cage. She’d been screaming for the past five minutes, and soon she heard the man’s quick footstep approach. 

“You poisoned me” she groaned as he approached the cage, eyes wide. “Why would you do that? What thread could I possibly be to you?” 

Fortunately for her, the man acted fast. Opening the cage, he stepped inside to kneel beside her, hands outstretched. Jemma didn’t waste a single second, grabbing the now empty plate to hit him on the side of the face, and ran. She still felt a little shaky as she got out of the hole using the rope the man had probably used to get down there, knowing he was not far behind. 

“Get back here!” the man yelled at her. 

Jemma doubled her efforts, getting up on shaky legs as soon as she was out on the sandy planet again. She ran away, with no destination in mind as she tried to get away from her kidnapper. She could see him coming closer each passing seconds, her pace slowed down by her lack of proper food and her pregnancy. But just as she tried to take a turn after a big rock, she fell on her knees, ripping her jeans as rock sliced through her skin and blood gushed out of it. She bit back a scream of pain. Behind her, she heard the man approach, looming over her as she turned around fully to face him.

“Kill me if you want” she spat, fighting back tears. “But I’m not going to be your prisoner.” 

The man raised his sword, and Jemma closed her eyes as he planted it right next to her injured leg. 

“You’re bleeding” he said, grabbing the piece of cloth from around her neck.

“What do you care?” Jemma bit back. 

“It smells blood.”

As soon as he applied the fabric against her throbbing leg, Jemma tried to kick her legs. 

“Get away from me! Don’t touch me!” 

But the man wasn’t listening to her anymore. The wind rustled around them, and he got up, looking around with wide eyes. “It’s coming” he said, “we have to go.” 

Using the distraction, Jemma tried to rush away. The man was quicker than her though, as he grabbed her by the waist and hoisted her up. 

“We have to go, now!”

“No!” Jemma screamed. “Stop pulling me, I’m not going with you!” 

Her leg was throbbing with pain as he pulled her towards the cave, hands firm against her. There was no way he couldn’t feel the hardness of her swollen stomach, yet he was relentless. 

“Get in, now” the man said as soon as he was near the hole she’d pulled herself from. “Come on!” 

This time, the whispers of the wind grew stronger in Jemma ears and she stopped fighting, letting herself down the hole with a scream of pain. 

“Move!” the man groaned, sliding in right after her. 

As soon as they were both in, he pulled the top of the makeshift door he’d made, sand sliding through the crack as he went down the ladder quickly. 

“What do you think is out there?” Jemma asked as he stood in front of her, staring at the door that he was still holding firmly. 

“Death” was all he replied. 

Jemma rolled her eyes. She was still panting from her run, she felt a little bit nauseous and her leg was killing her. 

“The only thing out there is a sandstorm. It’s a desert planet, in case you hadn’t noticed.”

“It affects the planet” the man replied, “that’s how you know it’s coming. Or the planet affects it, either way, it’s evil. This whole Godforsaken planet is evil.” 

Jemma couldn’t help but stare back at him. He was tall, taller than her and taller than Fitz. His clothes looked old, and she wondered for a moment how much time he’d spent there. 

“Planets cannot be evil” she bit back. “Everything that happened was a natural, climate-related phenomenon. Planets have ecosystems with definable patterns and rules that can be understood after enough--”

She was cut by the man again. “This planet does not have rules. It has moods.” 

With a gulp, Jemma looked down at the machete in the man’s hand as he gestured at her. Taking a step back, she raised her hands in front of her belly. 

“Perhaps it’s you who has moods.” she said, cautious. 

Looking down at his hands as if he was now realizing what he was waving around, the man turned to put the machete down, letting Jemma look around as he moved away. From under what looked like a table, the man took out a first aid kit.

“We need to sew that up” he said, moving closer to her. “And maybe your mouth, too, while I’m at it.” 

“I’m perfectly capable of tending to my own wounds.” Jemma replied, taking the first kit from his hands. 

Without grace, the man pushed her against the chair behind her.

“Why would I trust you, anyway?” Jemma asked again. “You locked me in a cage, stabbed me with a spear, threatened to eat me…”

She pulled off the cloth from her wound, gritting her teeth as she did so. Blood was gushing out of the cut, and she took a deep breath.

“That was your idea” the man remarked, standing in front of her. “Besides, that’s before I knew you were real, that the evil hadn’t gotten to you or to me.” 

Jemma sighed. “Next time you have doubts about whether someone is real, ask them to hit you.” 

He kept looking at her up and down, gaze lingering on her belly. She could feel his hesitation, the question at the tip of his tongue, but he didn’t say anything. 

“I’ll keep that in mind.” 

Heavy silence fell between the two of them before Jemma sighed, defeated. 

“Do you have a name?” she asked, as politely as she could. 

“Will.” 

She nodded. He was still staring, and she could feel herself grow annoyed. Had this man never seen women before?

“You wouldn’t happen to have any alcohol, would you, Will?” 

He huffed in response. “Yeah, i’ll run down the drugstore and get it for you.”

If he thought irony would calm her down, he was sorely mistaken. 

“Would you, please? If it’s not too much trouble” she sassed back. 

This time, Will smiled faintly. Turning her attention back on her leg, Jemma took a deep breath as she pushed the needle inside of her skin, sewing the wound close with a slight whimper. 

**_853 hours._ **

“You’re a doctor”

After stitching her wound, Jemma was shakingly rinsing the wound with water. It was only after she’d finished that Will broke the respectful silence that had been instilled between them. 

“Not a medical doctor, but yes. I have PhDs in biology and chemistry” Jemma replied, voice slightly shaky. “But I have more than my fair share of emergency work in the field.” 

Her leg was numb with pain, her entire body was aching because of her escape, and she was starting to feel nauseous again. Will handed her a cloth that looked clean, and she covered her wound with it delicately.

“You?” she asked, throwing him a glance from the corner of her eye. 

“Not very sciency.”

“Hmm.”

She glanced at the camping bed at the corner of the cave, and the pile of books and other supplies she could see from her standing point.

“You certainly came here prepared. Wish I’d had time to pack, but my trip was rather unexpected.” 

Will nodded. “You came here alone?” 

“Yes, I’m alone.” she pushed a hand against her stomach. “As alone as I can be, anyway.” 

Will opened his mouth to speak, but she cut him. 

“Are you?” 

He was wise enough to recognize her change of subject. 

“You’re the first person I’ve seen in a long time” he said instead. 

“How long have you been here?” 

Will shrugged. “I don’t know. My watch broke quickly and it’s hard to keep track of days without a sun.”

They stared at each other, still a little wary. 

“What year is it?” Will asked finally. 

Jemma kept her eyes locked in Will’s as she replied. “2015.” 

Immediately, she recognized the signs of inner panic when Will took a deep breath, looking at the place around him. Without a word, he disappeared behind a thick curtain, and Jemma got up to follow him. She didn’t know what to expect when she arrived on the other side, but it certainly wasn’t what she saw. Will was standing in front of an astronaut suit, deposited on top of other various supplies. The American flag in the background clashed almost comically with the walls of the cave, and she took a deep breath. 

“You’re an astronaut” she whispered. 

Will grabbed the helmet. 

“If NASA sent you” Jemma kept going, “they must know how to bring you back, right? This equipment is ancient. I know NASA has funding issues, but you’d think they’d upgrade for a mission like this.”

From his corner of the cave, Will scoffed. 

“It was new at the time.” he simply replied. 

It took Jemma awfully long seconds to realize what he must have meant by this remark. 

“What year did you come here?” she asked, a little breathless. 

“2001.”

His reply felt like a punch in the face. Legs slightly wobbly, Jemma found support on the wall beside her. 

“My God” she breathed, “You’ve been here 14 years.” 

Will finally stopped staring at the helmet, turning around to face her. “Like I said. It’s hard to keep track. You’ll see.”

Jemma swallowed the bile in her throat, forcing herself to follow Will as he went back to the main ‘room’. 

**_855 hours._ **

  
She’d let Will grab her phone, wandering around the cave while he stared at it seated on the bed. 

“Technology must have hit warp speed after I left” Will remarked after a while, eyes never leaving the device in his hands. 

Jemma smiled. “Yeah, it’s hard to keep up sometimes. If it wasn’t for Fitz, I’d be lost.” 

”Fitz?” 

It was such a simple question, yet Jemma felt her heart begin to race at the mere mention of his name. 

“My best friend” she replied. “He loves tech.” 

Unconsciously, she rubbed a hand on her stomach. If Will noticed, he didn’t say a single thing. 

“Hey” Jemma said, grabbing what looked like a map. “Is this a map of the area?”

“Only the areas we were able to explore.” Will replied. 

“What’s this, the no fly zone?” 

Immediately, Will turned around, wary. “Off limits. Only bad things happen there.” Then, turning his attention back to the phone, he asked. “How much memory you have on this thing?” 

“120 gigabytes.”

“Hundred and-- 120 gigabytes in this little thing?” Will asked, blown away.

He stayed silent for a little while, and Jemma bit the inside of her lip. She knew how strange and a little overwhelming it must have felt, and she had no idea what to say to him. 

“Fourteen years” Will said again, thoughtful. 

In his hands, the device was still turn on, and Jemma sighed. 

“I’m sorry, but I need to conserve the battery. Fitz engineered it to last a long time, but it’s draining. So unless you have some way to generate power... “

“NASA sent us here with all the power we could ever use” Will replied, mentioning at the equipment in front of him with his chin. “Except it’s all solar. And in case you haven’t noticed, there’s not much sunshine.”

They talked about the cave for a little bit after that, Jemma snooping around to make sure no other unpleasant surprises were waiting for her. It wasn’t that she didn’t trust Will, exactly, but she didn’t know him yet. Eventually, her legs and swollen ankles reminded themselves to her and she came back to sit on the chair she’d used earlier, rolling her neck with a groan. 

“Hey, you hungry?” Will asked, sounding a little shy all of a sudden. 

With a smile, the first she’d seen on his face, he gave her the food he was holding. It tasted a little different from what she’d eaten so far, but it wasn’t that bad after a few bites. 

“You said your whole team came through the portal” Jemma asked when Will sat down to eat as well. “How long were you supposed to be here?”

“They said they could have us back within a year. But there was always a possibility it would be a one way trip.” He pushed a little more food into his mouth, before continuing. “NASA was always curious about the monolith. Budgets for space exploration had vanished, so some small group on the inside convinced everyone it was the affordable future of space exploration.” 

He stopped, looking at her.

“If you’re not with NASA, how.. how did you get into the monolith? Especially since…”

He gestured at her middle section, and she grimaced. 

“It’s not with NASA anymore. It’s with SHIELD. They’ve had it for quite some time, I’m not sure how or why.”

Will frowned. “That’s real? SHIELD?”

Jemma nodded. “It was. I was recruited right out of the academy.”

“I was a test pilot for the air force, recruited by NASA. Now here I am.”

“Here we are” Jamma emphasized. “At least you volunteered.” 

Will snorted. 

“Yeah. I’ve never been able to resist doing something when I’m told the odds are impossible. When NASA wanted volunteers, I was first in line, and the first one through the portal.”

He told her about the other three astronauts, scientists, just like her. He told her about the terrain, the samples he’d taken, the studies they’d made of the stars. He told her about “it”, the fairytale monster he thought made people crazy as it got inside everyone’s head, scoffing at her laugh. 

“And if there is no  _ it _ ?” Jemma asked, finally. 

“You still think I’m making all this up?”

Jemma sighed, avoiding his gaze. She knew he was convinced of it, she could see it in his eyes. Yet she was a scientist, and she was trained to study facts and science, not scary stories. 

“You have no idea what’s going on here” Will spit out, throwing his plate away. 

She looked at him go, culpability tightening her stomach. She’d been here for a little over a month now, and she hadn’t moved much. WIll had been on this planet for 14 whole years, and he was obviously afraid of something. Facts or not. Getting up, she followed after him. He was sitting in front of his NASA gear, throwing a tennis ball against the walls of the cave, and looked up at her when she opened the curtain. Without a word, Jemma sat down beside him, wincing a little as her swollen belly made it difficult for her to sit cross legged on the floor.

“I didn’t mean to imply…” she started, stopping before she could make things worse. Will only nodded, and Jemma sighed. “Perhaps it’s best if we start over, since we’re going to be working together.”

Will smiled. “Working together? On what?” 

“On getting home!” 

Will shook his head. “There’s no getting home. The sooner you accept that, the better.”

“I will not accept that” Jemma said firmly. “there’s always hope.”

“Not on this planet.” 

“Then that’s how we’ll work together. I’ll be the voice of hope, you’ll be the voice of doom. We’ll keep each other in check. Deal?” 

She outstretched her hand in front of his face, looking at the way he stared at it before looking up at her eyes. Finally, he took his hand and shook it slightly. She could see the dubious look in his eyes, just as she could see that he clearly didn’t know how to breach the pregnancy subject when he was dying to do so.

“See” Jemma remarked, “ it’s working already.”

“No it’s not” Will whispered. 

Jemma rolled her eyes, hard.

“Will” she said, firmly. “I’m not giving birth on this planet. We’re getting home.” 

**_1490 hours._ **

“Ice cold beer” Will said, a little dreamily.

“Ugh” Jemma replied, scrunching her nose. “It’s not like I could have any right now. Truffle fries, though…” 

Will shook his head. “Steak, medium rare. And another ice-cold beer.” 

Jemma swallowed around her mouthful. After a few weeks, the taste had faded into something quite enjoyable, really. Will raised his glass with a smile, and she cheered with him. 

“Wine” Jemma whispered. “Oh, I’d kill for a glass of wine, when I couldn't even drink it at the moment.” 

Will grimaced. He’d finally gotten around the fact that she was, obviously, very pregnant. He hadn’t asked who the father was, or anything specific about the pregnancy, but Jemma knew that his lips burned with questions sometimes. He was careful around her, but never condescending, which she appreciated. Sometimes, he made sure that she got a little bit more to eat than he did, too. 

“What do you miss that’s not food?” Jemma asked, looking at Will. 

“Well, the sun, without a doubt. You?” 

She stayed silent for a long time, realizing that she could cry right now and then. There was a lot of things that she missed, a lot more than she could even express. She missed basic hygiene, for starter. It became more and more difficult with her pregnancy to pee in a bucket, which was humiliating enough as it was. She was nearing her 4th month now, which meant that she no longer felt nauseous at any time of the day, but she felt extremely tired and her back ached more and more. Will was a treasure though, often helping with a quick massage down the small of her back after he’d find her seated on her bed in the middle of the night once, tears streaming down her face as she tried to relieve some of the pressure. But most of all, she missed Fitz. She missed him so much her heart felt like it was physically breaking at times, whenever she thought about him or looked down at her belly. 

Without a word, Jemma got up, picking her Iphone that she’d left on Will’s makeshift desk. In silence, feeling Will’s eyes on her as she did, she turned it on and moved her chair to come sit by Will’s side. Then, she found the video she was looking for, and showed it to him. 

_ “OK Jemma, get ready to make a wish, and we will blow out the candle for you” _ Coulson’s voice said through the screen, as the camera moved and showed the playground and all her friends. Coulson put a TARDIS cake on the table, in front of a very excited Daisy, as they all exclaimed  _ “Happy Birthday Jemma!”.  _ Then, finally, the camera turned around to show Fitz holding the phone, and Jemma felt her heart race.  _ “Happy birthday Jemma” _ Fitz said, a beautiful smile spreading on his face.  _ “It’s not the same without you here. Say hi to your parents for me, and I’ll see you soon.”  _

“That’s Fitz” she finally said, voice tight. “That’s Fitz.”

Will smiled, a little sadly. “Yeah, I figured. You talk about him a lot. His name is like your favorite word. I mean… that’s a little bit more than a best friend.”

Jemma shook her head. “Oh. We’re inseparable. Well, we were.”

She straightened up, turning off her phone. 

“Anyone in your life?” she asked then, trying to change the subject.

Will looked down at his hands with a frown. “I always thought there’d be time for that later.”

Silence hung heavy after that, and Jemma sighed. “I think I’m going to turn in for the night. Thanks for dinner.”

She moved to get up, but Will grabbed her arm before she could. 

“Is… Is Fitz the father?” he asked. 

Jemma felt her face fall. “I... “

“I’m not asking… it’s not simple curiosity, Jemma” Will kept going. “The way you say his name… I know that look. Did you leave in good terms?”

Weirdly, it was all it took for Jemma to start crying. She hadn’t let go like this since she’d been in the cage, and as much as she felt ridiculous when Will opened his arms and let her cry against his shoulder, it felt too good to stop. She let go of all the pain, regrets, crushed hopes and dreams about this pregnancy at once, comforted by Will’s arms and his careful fingers in her hair. 

“Fitz doesn’t know” she finally said once her tears were dry, her face still tucked against Will’s neck.

They both smelled awful, sweat and dust clinging to their clothes, but for the first time in forever, it felt real. And it was precisely what Jemma needed at this moment. 

“You ran away?” Will assumed. 

“What? No! I just… It was a one night thing” she explained. 

Will hummed. 

“No it wasn’t, Jemma” he said softly. “I barely know you, but I know everything about him. I see the way you look at his picture sometimes, and I see the way you soften when you talk about him.” 

Jemma bit back another sob, closing her eyes to avoid any treacherous tears. “I love him” she said, finally. “I love him, and I know he loves me. He sacrificed himself for me, a few years ago, and I couldn’t face him after that. It took us so long to get back to the way we were before, and then... “

“The night in question happened.” 

She nodded against his collarbone, taking a deep breath as she straightened up and sat back on her chair again. 

“We were going to dinner” she said, looking at Will. “that night, when I was… when I arrived here. We were categorizing evidence, and he asked me to dinner. After that night, it took us a long time to get back to normal, and when I found out I was pregnant… I didn’t know what to do. I figured I could tell him that night, and we’d figure out together.” 

“But you didn’t get to do that” Will finished. “I’m sorry.” 

Jemma tried to smile, although she doubted it did any good.

“Yeah” she whispered. “We were stupid, and now... “ she looked down at her belly, defeated. “I feel guilty for putting a baby through all of this, I feel guilty for acting foolishly and I feel guilty for not telling Fitz before…” 

“You couldn’t know, Jemma” Will interjected, grabbing her hand. “You couldn’t know.”

Jemma smiled bitterly. “Yes, I couldn’t. But now here I am, on a deserted planet with a fetus approximating the size of a large orange, with no idea how I’m gonna get out of here or if I’m ever gonna get out of here. What if I have to give birth here, Will? How will a baby survive on this planet?” 

“Hey, hey” Will stopped her, grabbing her face between his large palms. “I’m the voice of doom, remember? You’re the voice of hope, Jemma. We’ll find a way.” 

Later, as she rolled on her bed, Jemma grabbed her phone to look at Fitz’s photo once more before falling asleep. 

“Goodnight, Fitz.” she whispered. Then, shyly, she put a protective hand around her middle. “Goodnight, baby.”

**_3010 hours._ **

“Damnit Fitz, what are we missing?” Jemma exclaimed, getting up in fury. “If there’s a way in, there has to be a way out.” 

“Everything OK?” Will asked, not looking away from the astronaut helmet he was currently using as a mirror. 

He knew better than to interfere with Jemma’s mood swings, especially lately. He knew she had troubles sleeping, and her back was hurting more and more. She was nearing the 6th months of her pregnancy now, and each passing day was a painful reminder to the both of them that they had to find a solution, and fast. 

“No, it’s not OK. I’ve been going over and over this research for over two months and I’m still not closer to an answer. This baby’s sitting on my bladder, and I feel like I’m going crazy here.” Jemma replied, taking a few deep breaths. 

“Well, why don’t we go outside, go for a little walk?” Will asked. 

“I want to go to the no-fly zone” Jemma declared, turning around to face him. 

Will sighed. “We’ve been over this a hundred times, you’re not going out there. That’s a bad place.”

“The answer might be there” she argued. “I’m tired of sitting around and waiting!”

Will got up, hitting the table in front of him with his fist. 

“Nothing is out there except for death!” he said, walking towards her in quick strides. “I told you, that’s where they all went right before--”

“It’s a coincidence!” Jemma screamed right back. “There could be something there, Will.”

“You” Will said slowly, pointing a finger at her “are not going. We made a deal to keep each other in check. You’re pregnant, Jemma. You’re not going out there.” 

Jemma huffed, feeling herself grow more annoyed by the second. 

“In check doesn’t mean you get to keep me as your prisoner. Me being pregnant has nothing to do with my capacity to investigate the terrain. I’m a scientist, Will, not some stay at home housewife.”

She stormed past him, grabbing the map as she went. 

“Where are you going?”

“Obviously, nowhere.”Jemma replied, leaving the room.

Jemma had actually forgotten how warm and heavy the air was outside of the cave. Walking around, she collected a few stones and plants, feeling her anger diminish as she worked on the ground. 

“He means well, Jemma” she reminded herself. “You should make him dinner tonight. Yes. That seems like a good idea. Then, you should stop talking to yourself.”

When she straightened up though, pushing her firsts against the small of her back with a groan, her eyes fell on something shiny ahead of her. Without thinking, she started walking towards it, and soon discovered that the moon was reflecting against a sword, planted right in the sandy ground. As soon as she took it out, wind rustled around her, and she realized that there were a few other things in the ground by her feet. In minutes, she’d dig up a few treasures, including a miniature telescope. 

“The stars” she whispered. “Fitz, that’s the answer!” 

She let out a giddy laugh, barely paying attention to her surroundings. When she heard it, through, her entire body froze. Behind her, a sand storm was fast approaching, and she got up as fast as she could, climbing up the hill towards the cave. She wasn’t fast enough to get to the top, and lost her footing with a pained groan, rolling down the hill on the other side. She pushed her hands against her belly once she stilled, praying for the first time of her life that the fall hadn’t hurt her child. Why hadn’t she listened to Will? Getting on her feet again, she spared a glance at the floor and felt her heart drop when she realized that she was standing on a pile of bones. 

“Oh” she moaned in pain, trying to escape the wind as it ruffled her hair, making it hard for her to look around. 

Which was when she saw it. In front of her, in the sandstorm, stood a black figure in clothes that looked torn apart by both time and claws. She barely had time to look at it before she felt her entire body shake with fear like she’d never experienced before, the mere sight of the creature making her breathless. It took her a few seconds, but she started running again, as fast as her body allower her. She found shelter behind a big rock, where she used damp sand to stop the bleeding on her forehead with a wince. Then, as soon as she could, she started running again. 

“Open the door!” Jemma screamed as she saw will stand by the door of the cave, binoculars in hand. 

Thankfully for her, Will didn’t ask many questions as he opened the door and slid in right after her, barely escaping the sand storm. As soon as she was safe and sound, Jemma fell on the nearest chair, exhausted. 

“You were right, Will” she panted, “I saw it, whatever  _ it _ is. Something was out there.”

“Where did you see it?” Will pressed automatically, kneeling by her side. “Where were you?” 

“Out by some junkyard. We weren’t the first ones here, it was a masquerade--”

“Jemma” Will cut her, fingers digging in her knees. “That’s near the no-fly zone. I told you never to go there, you could’ve been killed, or worse!” 

Jemma blinked up at him. 

“You knew about that place? All those bones, proof of others and you didn’t tell me?”

Will sighed. “Yes. Because I knew you’d wanna see it, and it’s better that you didn’t. That thing… has been killing everyone that’s come through for centuries.”

“How long have people known about the monolith?” Jemma pressed, ignoring him. “And why keep sending people when there’s no way back? It’s as if they’re being sacrificed!”

  
Will moved away, sitting on the edge of his bed as he put his head in his hands.

“I’d prefer not to join them. So from now on, will you just please stay put?”

Jemma smiled. “That doesn’t matter anymore.” she pulled the miniature telescope out of her bag. “Cause I know how to get us home.”

-

_ It had been a pretty stressful day at the playground the first time she’d noticed. She was feeling tired, antsy and most of all nauseous, and had been for the past week and a half. She’d put this on the stress of the situation, the agitation on the base and the situation with Fitz, but now she couldn’t fool herself anymore. She’d been waking up nauseous for the past two days, her middle section felt weirdly firm when she pressed her hand against it and she was way too late in her period to ignore the warning signs.  _

_ Which was why she’d decided to buy a handful pregnancy test, not trusting the computer system for private results. The last thing she needed was for Fitz to stumble upon a blood test, whether she was pregnant or not. Which had found her seated in her private bathroom attached to the room she was given, anxiously waiting for the three minutes to be up and the tests to hopefully come back negative.  _

_ It wasn’t like she’d never imagined a life with Fitz, with kids and maybe a dog, too. But it was awfully soon for this to happen, especially since Fitz and her weren’t even in good terms anymore. Since that night a month and a half ago, Fitz was distant and even cold at times. Most of the agents had noticed, but no one had said anything yet. No one dared, especially when it came to Fitz. He’d started stuttering at times again, and her heart broke every time he did. _

_ Sighing, she grabbed the three tests she’d peed on to reveal the results.  _

_ test 1 -- positive _

_ test 2 -- positive _

_ test 3 -- positive _

_ Jemma bit back a sob at the sight. She didn’t know how she felt about the news, and it terrified her. One small part of her was bursting with joy at the idea of holding a part of Fitz inside of her, growing with her as days passed. Another biggert part was completely terrified, and knew it wasn’t the time nor the place to have a baby. What would Fitz even say? After this night, she was half convinced he hated her. He was still struggling with his recovery, more than ever, and she was carrying his child. There was no way Fitz would ever take the news well.  _

_ With a treacherous tear rolling down her cheek, Jemma put all three tests in the bin next to the toilet as she got up and rolled inside her bed to cry.  _

**_3032 hours._ **

“This is where you came in” Jemma explained to Will as she crossed the map, straightening her back with a wince before bending over the desk again. “This is where I came in.”

“Alright professor” Will sassed. ‘I’m listening.” 

“The monolith creates a wormhole. A direct line from its location on Earth to a fixed location here.”

Will shook his head. 

“You said the portal is moving.”

“It appears to be moving” Jemma corrected. “But it’s the planet that’s moving, rotating on its axis. The portal is fixed. Since we know the date, time and place we both arrived, we know how long it took to move from “x” to “y”. If we track the stars long enough, we can determine the rate of the planet’s rotation and predict when and where the portal will appear.” 

She stopped to take a breath, smiling at Will as she waved the microscope. 

“With that thing?” Will asked, already lost. 

“Not with this. With that.” she pointed at the old NASA equipment dusting in the corner of the cave.

Will sighed. 

“Assuming we could even fix that heap of junk, there’s no way to power it.”

Jemma smiled even wider. “Yes there is.”

This time, she grabbed her phone to wave it at Will. 

“I have enough battery left to get the data we need.”

“If we use up your battery and this doesn’t work” Will said slowly, walking towards her with a puzzled expression on his face. “that’s the end of Fitz, and all your friends.” 

He put a reassuring hand against her shoulder as she looked down at the device in her hands. 

“I know you’ve already considered it” Will kept going softly. “But that’s something… that’s the only piece of memory you’ll ever have of him.” 

“I know that” Jemma bit back. “I know that. And if it doesn’t work, and if I stay here on this planet, I will never have any pictures of my baby’s dad that I could show them one day. I realize that, Will. But I have to try.” 

Later on, as she was seated right outside of the cave under the blue moon, she watched the video one last time on her phone. 

_ “Happy birthday, Jemma, it’s not the same without you here. Say hi to your parents for me, and I’ll see you soon.” _

She hit pause, staring at Fitz’s face longer than it was possibly necessary. 

“Goodbye Fitz” she whispered, turning it off. “I’ll see you soon.” 

**_3183 hours._ **

WELCOME TO PROJECT DISTANT STAR

PATHFINDER

NAV AND PL/SQ OPERATING SYSTEM

Jemma let out a happy sigh as Pathfinder’s screen lit up, turning around to look at Will and jump in his arms. Will let out a slight  _ oof _ as he caught her with a chuckle, before patting her back. Lately, she’d spent sleepless night up and analyzing data Will did not even comprehend half of the time, his NASA training long forgotten as she calculated numbers and equations he couldn’t even read out loud. He’d made it her job to make sure she slept at least a full seven hours from time to time, fed her, and occasionally helped her with a few things. 

Will had been sleeping when Jemma let out a gasp, Pathfinder shutting off entirely in front of her very eyes.

“What happened?” he asked, immediately running to her side. “Is it the baby?”

“What?” Jemma asked, puzzled. “No! it’s not the baby. It’s pathfinder, it died. But it’s in a better place now.”

Will’s shoulder sagged in relief. Ever since the baby had started moving a little over two months ago, Jemma had often gasped in surprise with the movements, sometimes even painful as the little one kicked her in the ribs. It wasn’t like he could do anything to prevent it, but Will was always afraid that something would go awfully wrong all of a sudden. Jemma was six months pregnant by now, but it wasn’t like she was eating nearly the amount of food she needed for both her and the baby, or had a sufficient amount of sun and vitamin D to go with it. Her pregnancy went well, as far as they were both aware, but it didn’t prevent him from worrying. And as much as Jemma liked to act like nothing ever scared her, he often caught her looking down at her belly with worry.

“You get anything?” he asked finally.

“We got one. There, 18 days from now.” 

As soon as he saw where she was pointing at, Will sighed. 

“Did it have to be there? That’s the no-fly zone. It’s a 40 hours hike, at least. There’s a canyon 30 meters wide waiting for us. It’s impossible to cross, Jemma. We’ll never make it. Especially in your condition.”

When he looked up however, Jemma was smiling. 

“Didn’t you say you can’t resist doing something when the odds are impossible?” she asked, arms crossed above her belly as she tilted her head in the most adorable way.

He sighed in defeat “I knew that snake would come back to bite me.” 

“You got two weeks, fly boy. Figure it out.” she tapped his shoulder, stretching her back. “I’m gonna lay down a bit. This lady here is training to be a boxer.”

Will let out a snort. “Oh so it’s a girl now?” 

Jemma didn’t turn around as she replied. 

“Yep.” 

**_3561 hours._ **

“So, question, professor. Why Science?” Will asked as he worked. “How’d you figure all this out? The planets, the math…”

“Scoliosis” Jemma replied with a smile. 

“...okay?” 

“I had scoliosis as a kid. I had a small surgery to correct it, and I was flat on my back for a few weeks, so to help combat the boredom every night, my father would wheel my bed out and talk about the stars.” 

“Nice job, dad.” 

“Hmm.”

The next time he looked at her, Jemma was staring straight ahead, lost in her thoughts. 

“What are you thinking about?” Will asked. 

Jemma bit her bottom lip, suddenly nervous. “I’m thinking about Fitz” she admitted. “About Fitz as a dad, I mean.” 

She sighed, putting her hands on her belly, caressing it gently. The baby was sleeping, which was both a relief and a situation of stress nowadays. Relief because the little one was fidgeting like her father whenever she was awake, but stressful because Jemma knew she had tons of nutritional deficiencies amongst tons of other things she needed to worry about. It wasn’t like this planet was the perfect place for a pregnant woman, but she just had to deal with it and push her worries at the back of her mind. She was just constantly afraid to lose this baby, too.

“I don’t even know if he wanted children, you know?” she said. “I was so afraid to tell him. So afraid to lose him… I didn’t even know what I wanted, initially. I didn’t even know if I wanted to keep her when I found out.” 

Will hummed. “I obviously don’t know Fitz. But from what you’ve told me… Jemma, the guy gave you his last breath when you were at the bottom of the Atlantic. I don’t think he would have turned his back on you if you’d told him.” 

“But I didn’t get the chance, did I” she smiled bitterly. “If this doesn’t work… if this baby is born here, or if I die first… Fitz will never know he’d had a child. I suppose it’s a mercy, if you think about it this way.”

There was nothing Will could ever say that would ease this pain, and he knew it better than anyone. So instead, he showed her was he was working on, changing the subject of the conversation. 

“So, this portal” he said “how do we know it’s not just a door that swings one way?”

“I think it acts more like a valve” Jemma replied immediately, like everytime she was asked about science. “On Earth, it seemed to open randomly, but it only appeared random from our point of view.”

Will frowned. “What opens it?” 

Jemma pointed at the sky, smiling. 

“The moons. The degree of alignment affects the portal the way our moon affects the tides, causing it to ebb and flow, pulling things in and out.”

“So, the portal opens, we just jump right through, go with the flow?” Will sighed. 

“It doesn’t stay open very long, so in case there’s no time for that... “ she handed him a bottle proudly. “We send a message in a bottle! Everything Fitz needs to know to open it, keep it open, and come and get us.”

Will took a gulp of water, thoughtful. 

“I’m glad that thing sent you over here, and not the janitor” he pointed out. 

Jemma elbowed him in the ribs. “And how exactly is this supposed to get us across the canyon? We only have one shot, and we have to leave tomorrow.”

“Well. I’m gonna shoot this into the wall across the canyon, and we’re gonna slide across on a rope.” 

Jemma looked at him, eyes wide.

“What, did you think I was gonna build an helicopter?”

She huffed. “Well. kinda?”

**_3575 hours._ **

The road was long, but Jemma had anticipated it. It didn’t mean it wasn’t hard though, her belly weighing in a way she wasn’t familiar with. In the months she’d spent on the planet, Will and her hadn’t done much walking around, which she now regretted. She’d always been a pretty fit person by nature, but the extra weight really took its toll on her, coupled with the climate of the planet. Thankfully, Will had taken all the luggages they’d need, and she was grateful for his silence about her current suffering. She could sense the glances he often threw her, but he knew better than to interfere. 

“Eat, shower or sleep?” Jemma asked at some point, “what are you gonna do first when we get back?” 

Will huffed. “Eat, please! Who are you talking to. What’re you gonna do?” 

Jemma hummed, pretending to think about it for a minute. 

“I’m gonna eat in the shower, and fall asleep while doing so.” 

Will nodded. “That’s very efficient. I expect nothing less.” 

All laughter and conversation died as soon as they arrived in front of the canyon they were supposed to cross, though. 

“Uh, this can’t be it” Jemma pointed out, voice weak “We made a mistake, we went the wrong way.”

Will shook his head “This is the spot” 

“But… you said it was 30 meters wide, there’s no way we can cross that!” Jemma insisted, a little hysterically. 

Will stayed silent, in loss for words. In front of them, a huge gap separated them from the other side, and the place where the portal was supposed to appear.

“It was, I swear.”   
Jemma started to hyperventilate. “That’s more like a hundred meters! Unless there was some significant earthquake…”

“It doesn’t want us to leave” Will suddenly said, looking at her. 

There was no time for Jemma to answer to this, when familiar ramble made them both look up at once. Across the canyon, the portal was opening already. 

“There it is! It’s opening!” Jemma screamed. “There has to be a way to make that. We didn’t come this far to fail!” 

Will unclasped his backpack quickly. “Maybe we don’t have to get there. Hand me the bottle, Jemma.” 

Securing it into the slingshot, he tightened the knot as much as he could, praying that the message would make the trip. 

“We can fire it right into the portal” he explained as he did so “if it’s not dragging any rope, it might just make it.”

Jemma nodded shakingly. “Hurry. We’ve only got one shot.”

As soon as Will fired, both of them held their breath. Jemma vaguely realized she was muttering a litany of “come on”s when Will caught her hand, his warm and sweaty palm squeezing her fingers. The seconds leading to the impact stretched like hours, and suddenly, the portal was gone again. The bottle exploded against the rock, and Jemma felt her knees give up from under her. 

“No” she whispered, Will catching her just in time, preventing her fall.

-

The journey back to the cave was silent. Will didn’t point out the tears sliding down Jemma’s cheeks, and Jemma didn’t point out the way Will’s fists shook all the way back. 

“We’re never going home” Jemma said when they were finally back at the cave, staring at the fire Will had made to keep her warm. She hadn’t had the heart to tell him that she wasn’t shaking out of cold. 

Will sighed, taking off his jacket. “Maybe this is our home now.” 

Jemma shook her head, fingers digging in her middle section. She hadn’t felt the baby move in hours, now, either.

“This isn’t a home. This is hell.” 

Letting go of any restraints she could have had, Jemma pushed the table against the wall of the cave, falling to her knees as it crashed in an awful metallic noise. Will was by her side in seconds, ever reassuring presence against the flat of her back as she started to cry, curling in his arms like a child. 

“You were right” Jemma hiccuped between her sobs. “There’s no hope on this planet.” 

“That’s what I used to think.” Will whispered, pulling back just enough to be able to catch her face between his hands. “Then you showed up. The both of you.” 

He pushed a firm hand against the swell of Jemma’s belly, a tentative grin spreading on his face. 

“There is hope, Jemma. Right there.” 

Jemma wiped her tears with the back of her hand, shaking her head firmly. “What kind of hope is there for a baby on this forsaken planet?”

Will sat back more comfortably on the floor, allowing Jemma to do the same. Right next to the fire, the both of them entangled, Jemma felt herself relax a little bit for the first time since the bottled had crashed against the rock. 

“Back when I was sent through the portal” Will began, “I had a boyfriend. Mind you, we broke up a little before I volunteered for this mission, but… We were pretty serious, before that. Thought about starting a family, at some point.” 

Jemma blinked the tears out of her eyes. It was the first time in almost six months that Will had talked about himself, and his life before this planet. 

“Sometimes, I think about what I could have had, if I had stayed back” Will whispered, eyes unfocused. “I cannot be your Fitz, Jemma. And you can never be my Chris. But maybe together, we can make our own little family.” 

**_4720 hours._ **

“Are you ready?” 

“Relax” Jemma scoffed. “We’re not going to miss it. I’m the one who did the maths, remember?” 

She arranged herself with the astronaut helmet, puffing her hair a little before grabbing her bag. Satisfied with what she saw (and what she could do, really), she walked towards the living room, squeezing Will’s hand as she walked past. It was weird, their dynamic. They weren’t a couple, her heart already taken by someone she’d probably never see again, and she definitely wasn’t part of the team he played for. But it felt good to have human contact again, and she loved to curl around him at night, his torso warm against her sore back as he tentatively reached out to put a hand against her belly. 

She was eight months pregnant now. She tried not to think about it too much, way too afraid of the consequences if she did. Will had gathered every medical supplies he could find for the birth, and they’d built a crib with an old NASA box. Her belly was huge, she was huge, and she felt heavier than ever. 

She also missed Fitz so much it hurt. 

“Even if we do miss it” she said as she grabbed some water “there’ll be another on in 18 years. Maybe we can take the kid for her 18th birthday, then.” 

Will scoffed. “Not funny.”

They found the perfect spot for a sunrise, the barren land stretching towards the infinite in front of their very eyes. 

“You think I’ll get a tan?” Will asked as sat down, helping Jemma do the same. 

“Well it’s only going to last a few minutes” Jemma argued. “We’re on one of the poles.” 

Will chuckled in response, opening his mouth to add something when he saw it. Right through Jemma’s beautiful brown eyes, the reflexion of a red flare piercing through the sky. 

“It’s Fitz” Jemma screamed immediately, following his gaze. “He found a way, we’re going home Will!”

Unable to speak, Will only followed as she got up and eagerly ran down the hill. As soon as they were on flat soil again, he grabbed her hand, helping her run towards the light. All tiredness was forgotten as they both raced towards the portal as fast as they could. They were just a few meters away from the portal, now able to see it clear as day, when they heard it. Thunder started to rumble behind them, and wind howled around them. 

“Oh no, no no! Not now” Jemma begged, panic seizing her as she came to a stop.

“Jemma” Will spun her around, looking at her in the eyes. “Jemma, go, you can make it.”

“No!” Jemma yelled back, pulling at his hand. “I won’t leave you here! I won’t move if you don’t come!” 

Even with the wind, Jemma could see the way Will gritted his teeth. 

“God damnit, woman!”

Without wasting another second, he swiped her from her feet, carrying her bridal style as he started to run again. Jemma had pushed her face against his neck, shielding her face from the sand as best she could, and he fought the need to close his eyes as sand made it hard for him to advance clearly. The portal was so close now, only a few meters away, and just when Will thought he wouldn’t make it, ams sore and body completely worn out, a man suddenly appeared right through it. 

“Fitz” he whispered, recognizing the blond curls and he bridge of his nose. He’d spend enough time watching Jemma’s videos and photos to recognize him anywhere. “Fitz!!” he screamed, louder this time. 

To his credit, Fitz didn’t seem fazed by the fact that an unknown man wearing an outdated NASA outfit knew his name. Instead, he ran right straight towards him, arms outstretched as he laid eyes on the woman curled in his arms. 

“Jemma” he whispered as soon as he reached them. Then, he looked up at Will. “This way, the portal!” 

Fitz’s grip on Will’s hips was strong enough to pull him towards the portal, and Will barely had time to notice the rope attached to the scientist’s waist before it all turned black. 

When Will blinked his eyes open, dust was surrounding him. The first thing he did was to clench his arms, making sure that Jemma was still there. He allowed himself to relax when he realized she was safe and sound in his arms, blinking her eyes opened in confusion. Then, he was aware of two things. First, there was someone wrapped around him, and that someone was looking at him with comically wide blue eyes. Second, they were in a well, and six people he didn’t know were looking back at him in horror. 

  
  



	2. Fitz

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Fitz walked away guiddy with the prospect of a dinner and maybe, just maybe, the opportunity to talk about about what had happened to them a couple of months before, he heard it. There was no mistaking Jemma’s voice as she screamed, and Fitz turned around as fast as he could, running back towards where he came from. When he entered the room though, there was no one there. 
> 
> “Jemma?” he screamed, looking around frenetically. “Jemma, are you there?” 
> 
> He run around the monolith’s case, realizing that it was open. Without thinking, Fitz rushed through the glass doors. 
> 
> “Jemma!” he screamed, putting his hands against the monolith. The stone was warm against his palms, and if he concentrated enough, he could almost feel it vibrate. “Jemma!!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone, I am BACKKK with the second chapter. After writing more than 25 pages on my google document, I realized that I would eventually need a third one, so i'm really sorry but this chapter isn't the end of the story like I had initially planned. the third one is gonna be called "jemma & fitz", so this gives you a vague idea of what to expect in it... 
> 
> Anyway! Here's the second part of this story, and Fitz's point of view on the whole situation (plus a little bit of "after"). I hope you'll like it!
> 
> Once again, English isn't my first language and I'm sorry for all the grammar mistakes I might have made in this chapter. xx

“Dinner.”

Jemma sighed. “Fast approaching, yes. And we’ll eat it, I’m sure.” 

“Yeah, no, no, no.” Fitz’ breath caught, his eyes falling at his feet. “But me and you-- Maybe we could eat somewhere else, somewhere nice.” 

Fitz could see the way Jemma’s hands shook lightly as soon as he was done talking. It was nice, in a way, to know that he wasn’t the only one nervous in the room. It had been hard, for them, after his incident. He wasn’t stupid, he knew that Coulson didn’t have to insist too hard for Jemma to take the undercover mission at Hydra. He knew she was shaken by what he’d told her, and he knew that she felt guilty for the way he was, now. Fitz would have done it a thousand times over, though. No matter how much it hurt, no matter how hard he cried every time he couldn’t speak a proper sentence, he would do it all over again for Jemma. 

“Oh” Jemma finally breathed. 

He could see the way she bit back a smile when he lost his balance, nervous. It didn’t happen a lot, lately, but there was something so nerve wracking about them being alone together for the first time in what felt like forever. 

“Uh, well, you.. you should come find me when you’re finished here and I’ll… start working on options to run by you… for that.” Fitz managed eventually. 

Jemma seemed to hesitate for a short moment. He knew exactly why, could still remember the feeling of her skin against his and the taste of her kisses as he looked at her, so incredibly beautiful and perfect. Then, eventually, she smiled. As he walked away guiddy with the prospect of a dinner and maybe, just maybe, the opportunity to talk about about what had happened to them a couple of months before, he heard it. 

There was no mistaking Jemma’s voice as she screamed, and Fitz turned around as fast as he could, running back towards where he came from. When he entered the room though, there was no one there. 

“Jemma?” he screamed, looking around frenetically. “Jemma, are you there?” 

He run around the monolith’s case, realizing that it was open. Without thinking, Fitz rushed through the glass doors. 

“Jemma!” he screamed, putting his hands against the monolith. The stone was warm against his palms, and if he concentrated enough, he could almost feel it vibrate. “Jemma!!” 

**_6 months later._ **

“New readings on the monolith?” Coulson asked as he stepped into the lab, looking around. 

It felt weird, to see it so empty. Back in the bus, he’d gotten so used to seeing Fitz and Simmons in the lab together, bickering around as they worked. Now that Jemma was gone, Fitz had been but a shadow of himself. Coulson had foolishly thought he’d seen how bad it could get when she’d been undercover at Hydra, but it was nothing compared to the way Fitz had reacted to her being taken by the monolith. He’d often had to force Fitz to go home, getting up in the middle of the night to make sure that he was not in the lab again, running endless tests. He also had to appoint Bobbi to the lab with him at some point, because there was no way Fitz would ever handle the pressure with the way he overworked himself. They were busy enough as it was with the new Inhumains to handle, and of course the scientist had refused to let go of his studies on the monolith. The only good thing about this entire situation was the fact that he hadn’t seen Fitz stutter in months, now. 

Bobbi hummed. “Nope. That was Daisy, firing a warning shot. No new readings, no new anything on the monolith for months. Fitz even stopped sending automated probes into that room.”

Coulson frowned. That didn’t sound good at all. 

“No one’s stepped foot in there since… Simmons was swallowed up by it” Bobbi eventually said, looking away in guilt. 

It had been a hard for the team, after Simmons’ disappearance. Handling Fitz for the first few days had been the worst of it, but most of the team had taken it hard. 

“Have Fitz look into this” Coulson said finally, handing her a gun he’d found on the case they were working on. “Oh, and by the way, where is he?” 

“Fitz?” 

There was something in the way Bobbi said his name that made Coulson internally sigh. For a trained super spy, she could barely conceal her fake surprise at the mention of his name. 

“He requested yesterday to do some research at SHIELD archives, but I haven’t seen him all day.”

“I’ll call him in” Bobbi replied immediately. Way too quickly. “He’s chasing down one last lead on the monolith.”

“He’s had a lot of last leads” Coulson pointed out.

“I know. With him, I just… I try to…”

Coulson sighed. “We all do. But I’d rather have him with his head in the game than banging it against a wall.” 

“I’ll call him in” Bobbi said again. 

As soon as he was out of the door, she took out her phone, letting out a long sigh as she dialed his number. She had no idea where he was at the moment, but she knew he wasn’t in America. His search for clues on the monolith had taken him to various places around the world, and she’d had to cover for his absence more than she should ever have accepted. But it was Simmons he was after, and she actually had no idea how she’d react if she had to tear up the world to find Hunter. 

“Go for Fitz” said the voice at the other end of the phone as soon as he picked up. 

“You need to come in” Bobbi said, not even bothering with an introduction. Few people had Fitz’s private number anyway, and even less called him lately except for her. “Coulson has some weaponry he wants you to examine. It’s pressing”. 

“You can handle that, though, yeah? For a biologist, you’re pretty good with forensics.”

“Fitz, I can’t cover for you anymore.” Bobbi insisted. “I’ll get started, but you need to get in here, we need you here.” 

Fitz was quiet for a few seconds. “Yeah, I’ll head back there in a minute. I just need to check out one last thing.” 

She could hear the sound of a car behind him, and she knew better than anyone that he wouldn’t let go as long as he hadn’t checked the lead, no matter what it was.

“Soon” Bobbi insisted. “All right?” 

Fitz’s voice was distant as he replied. “Yeah, copy that. Call me if you hit a snag.” 

As soon as he hung up, Bobbi let out an even more defeated sigh. Going back to her analysis, she was left alone for around five short minutes before another member of the team barged into the lab. 

“We lost Fitz again, uh? Out there chasing down another ghost story?” Mack asked as he came in, heading straight towards her. 

“He’s got a theory.”

“He’s always got another theory. That’s why I locked up that damn rock and won’t let anyone in.”

Bobbi looked up at him. “He wouldn’t dare go in there. He’s not totally irrational. Process of digging just helps him cope.”

Mack shook his head. “No, it keeps him from coping.” He sighed. “Look, I love the fact that he won’t give up hope, I do. But the man’s a scientist, and the evidence is pointing one way.”

Bobbi avoided his gaze. 

“I know, but… I’m not gonna have this talk with him. Are you?”

She put on her glasses, staring at Mack as he bent his head, defeated.

“So” she kept going. “Let him dig.”

**_TANGIER, MOROCCO_ **

“Mister” the cab warned as Fitz stepped out of the car, leaning against the opened window. “A man like you should not go to this place alone, though I will not go with you.”

Fitz nodded. He didn’t voiced that he had nothing to lose, nor that he didn’t actually fear anything he’d find on his way. He was there to find Jemma, and it was all that mattered at this point. 

“Okay” he said eventually. “Just stay close.”

He’d written down the address on a piece of paper, that he tucked inside of his suit as soon as he arrived near the door he was looking for. Two men were leaning against the wall, too casually to even look natural. The meeting with Yusef Hadad wasn't that hard to arrange, all things considered, and Fitz didn’t even think twice about his newfound confidence. In the months following Jemma’s departure, nothing had mattered besides finding her, and putting himself in danger while queuing for evidences had become a routine that didn’t even make him blink twice now. As he was dragged to Yusef, tied up and blindfolded, he couldn’t even remember what fear felt like. All he could feel was determination, and loss. He’d lost Jemma, and he would never stop fighting until he found her. 

Fitz wasn’t an idiot. He saw the way his friends looked at him, sometimes. Even more since they’d heard about this particular night, and its consequences. He hated the way they often pushed a reassuring hand against his shoulder, just as much as he loved it. They were his family, in every sense of the word, but his heart was shattered by Jemma’s disappearance. He didn’t need pity, or time to heal. He needed a solution, he needed to bring her back. 

Getting the information from Yusef was easier than he’d thought. It cost him a punch in the face and a few heated words, but he had what he’d come for, which was the scrolling. After chasing this lead for weeks, it felt strangely good to have a tangible thing to hold in the palm of his hand. This piece of ancient paper was the first real lead he’d had in months. 

_ “This woman, you went all this troubles for. You love her, yeah?” _

Yusef’s words still echoed in his head as he drove the car away from the place. Fitz wasn’t exactly sure that the word “love” covered the feelings he felt for Jemma, and what he would be capable of doing for her.

As soon as he was back in the lab a few hours later, Fitz shrugged off his jacket, holding the scrolling tight in his hand as he headed to his work station. It took him a few minutes to realize that Coulson was standing there, in the dark, looking back at him. His eyes fell on his arm, or most importantly his lack of, before looking away. 

“I’ve been waiting for a while” Coulson finally said, walking towards the scrolling that he’d put at his workstation.

“Had to be done” he explained. “It’s my last shot.” 

Coulson hummed. “What’s supposed to be in there?” 

“The answer.” 

Rolling up his sleeves, Fitz grabbed the equipment he would need to analyze it. He barely registered Coulson’s following words as he heard them. 

“You’ve thought you’ve had the answers before. I think you’ve considered every possible answer, except the obvious one.” 

Slamming the drawer shut, Fitz chose to ignore him.

“You thought Simmons was trapped inside the monolith” Coulson kept going “but every instrument scan showed the stone was solid all the way though. After hearing about the Pym technologies disaster, you even thought she’d been reduced to a microscopic level. But no evidence supported that. And now…”

Slamming his tool against the table, Fitz straightened up. “And now, I think… I know it’s a black hole. It’s dark matter made solid. It can warp space-time. It… look, regardless, okay?” he grabbed the piece of paper in his hand, waving it at Coulson’s face “This is gonna tell us exactly what the monolith is. So…”

Without another word, he smashed it against the table, using the shock to open it. A small cloud of dust escaped from it, making him frown, before he realized that there was a piece of paper inside of it. Taking it out quickly under Coulson’s dubious gaze, Fitz rolled it open. 

“Should we… Scan it?” Coulson asked, gentle. “See if the computer can decipher what the--”

“It’s Hebrew” Fitz replied, voice tight. “It’s just one word.” 

Coming closer slowly, looking at the way Fitz’s shoulder had tensed up and his entire body language screamed pain, he asked: “What does it mean?” 

_ Death. _

This time, when Fitz looked up at him, Coulson’s heart clenched. He’d seen pain from up close, in all his years in the field. He’d lost agents, friends, people he considered family. But he knew the kind of pain Fitz was going through, and there was no words strong enough to express how sorry he felt for the man in front of him. He looked at the way Fitz turned the paper around, looking for a clue, anything that would delay the inevitable.

“Fitz” he said finally, “I’m gonna make the trip to Sheffield. Jemma’s family deserves to know that she’s MIA.”

“I--”

“They need to be able to move on, and so do we.” 

Fitz pushed his hands against the small of his back, staring at the ceiling. 

“You’ve shown so much heart, never giving up on Simmons” Coulson kept going, creeping closer. “And I will always, always respect you for it.” 

In front of him, Fitz had pushed his head in his hands, facing away from him. Coulson couldn’t see the expression on his face, but he knew that he was torn, heartbroken and lonely. He’d been following leads on leads for months now, never stopping, never giving up. He knew better than anyone what it felt to give up on someone, but Coulson had to be the director right now. 

“But look around. We need you” Coulson insisted. “We need that big brain of yours and that heart here, okay? I miss her too. I’m having a hard time accepting it, all of it. I’m… I’m on my third hand, but nothing feels normal because nothing will feel normal.”

He hadn’t realized his tone had gone up as he hysterically waved his hand around. Fitz’s eyes were wet with tears, looking bluer than ever. 

“May took off on vacation and never came back, so I lost my right hand, too. We have got to accept it, to say goodbye.”

Suddenly, Coulson was faced with a sight he’d hoped he would never have to see again. Fitz’s eyes were unfocused, his mouth opened in confusion as he stared at the floor as if he wasn’t really here in the lab. All of a sudden, the broken Fitz with brain damage who’d came back from the hospital barely able to speak a full sentence was standing in front of him once again. Putting a reassuring hand on his shoulder, grounding him, Coulson all but forced him to look up.

“We need to say goodbye.” he said, softer this time. “Jemma would want us to do that. Okay?”    
Then, after long and painful seconds of silence, Fitz finally whispered back. “Okay.”

It wasn’t okay, though. It wasn’t, and Coulson knew it, even though he turned around to leave him alone with his grief. It wasn’t okay, because Jemma wasn’t there. Looking around as he wiped his tears on the inside of his sleeve, Fitz couldn’t stomach the sight of the lab without Jemma in it. He’d taken his decision as soon as he’d left the room, walking towards the no trespassing area in quick strides. He barely had the piece of mind to grab a shotgun as he went, ripping off the restriction bands as he opened the door with a kick. What did he have to lose anyway? Jemma was gone. 

The monolith was still there, imprisoned by the glass case and surrounded by yellow tape. The door had been fortified since Jemma’s disappearance, but it only took a well placed shot against the lock to open it. As soon as it opened, Fitz threw away the shotgun, walking towards it in quick strides. No one had came close it after Jemma, mostly because no one dared to. But Fitz had nothing to lose anymore as he stepped inside the glass case, staring at the rock.

“Do something” he whispered. Then, taking a few deep breaths, he yelled. “Do something!”

Screaming didn’t feel half as good as he’d imagined it, though. He’d expected release, he’d expected to feel anything but the pain that burned through his veins and crushed his heart ever since Jemma had disappeared. But he only felt anger, resentment, and releaf never came. 

“Do something!” he yelled once more, hitting the stone with his fist. Blood was gushing through his fingers as he cut his skin, but he couldn’t even feel it. “ **Do something** !” 

He was still screaming by the time the rest of the team barged through the door, running towards him. 

“Fitz!” Mack screamed, “Are you crazy?”    
  
He grabbed him by the waist, tearing him from the stone and away from the containment module. As soon as he was secured, Bobbi Hunter and Daisy pushed the door close with their bodies, just in time for the monolith to grow liquid again. It lasted half a second, but it was enough for all three of them to stand there and gape.

“Damnit Fitz!” Coulson yelled as he entered the room, looking straight at him. 

“I had to know.” Fitz replied immediately. He wasn’t going to apologize, no matter what everyone said.

Coulson pointed at the glass with his one good hand. “I already lost Simmons to that thing, I cannot afford to lose you too!” 

“You’re trying to get yourself killed?” Hunter asked, still panting. 

Mack was still holding Fitz’s shoulder, making sure that he was okay. Fitz couldn’t take the patronizing way his friends treated him anymore, no matter how well they meant. 

“I won’t give up” he said, eyes still closed. He was too afraid to open his eyes, knowing he’d cry like a baby if he did. “I can’t give up.”

Daisy sighed.“None of us want to, Fitz, but…” 

“She’s pregnant!” he screamed.

Dead silence followed his declaration. Sitting straighter, Fitz pushed his head against his knees. 

“She’s pregnant” he repeated in a sob. “And she’s gone.”

After a few painful seconds, he felt more than he heard Daisy kneel in front of him, putting her hand on his arm. Blood rushed to his ears as he let go and cried, sobbing like a child on the floor of the playground. He knew he should somehow feel ashamed to break down like this in front of his friends, but he was too far gone to care. He felt like his heart had been ripped from his chest, crushed and stepped on. He didn’t even know it was possible to miss someone that much before losing Jemma.

“What are you talking about, Fitz?” Daisy asked, gentle but firm. 

It took him a couple more minutes to be able to stop his tears, and finally Fitz was able to look up. All of his friends had gathered closer, now forming half a circle around him. Worry was clear on their faces, and Fitz could see the unshed tears in Bobbi’s eyes when he crossed her gaze. 

“Jemma’s pregnant” he repeated, voice hoarse. 

Coulson’s frown deepened, and he swallowed loudly. “But… how? When?” 

Fitz shook his head, an humorless chuckle escaping his lips. 

“Remember that day when I was supposed to open your toolbox for the real SHIELD, Sir? Well, Simmons and I had a plan, obviously, since I ran away with it. That night before, we talked about it in her room, making sure everything was the way we’d planned.” he stopped, taking a deep breath, willing his voice not to break as he spoke. “We had beers, because I didn’t know when I was going to come back. We started talking about a few things, one leading to the other and… We’d never spoken about the discussion we had at the bottom of the ocean, before. I don’t know why we thought it would be a great idea to talk about it again. “ 

He shook his head, sniffling loudly. 

“We’re two bloody geniuses” he croaked, more treacherous tears sliding down his face. “You’d think we’d be more careful that this, right? Especially with our job.” 

Daisy’s fingers tightened on his arms in support. Mack started rubbing his back, too, and he could feel the tremors in his friends’ arms. 

“Oh, Fitz” Hunter said brokenly. 

“I didn’t know” he kept going. “I didn’t know. After that night, it was… We didn’t think, we were stupid, and it nearly cost us our friendship. We didn’t know how to act around each other for the longest time after that, and when we finally found a way to communicate again... “    
  
Fitz let out a sob. Behind the team, the monolith stood, still as ever. 

“We were going to dinner. She was gonna tell me there, I know it. I could see the way she was fidgeting the entire night before that, and then…” 

“Fitz” Coulson said, kneeling behind Daisy. “I’m… I’m so sorry.” 

The engineer shook his head. He looked up at Daisy, finding her lashes wet with tears as well. 

“I found the tests in her room. Three, because of course she wouldn’t be satisfied with one. I guess she didn’t want to do blood samples, because she knew I’d find out eventually.” He closed his eyes. “I don’t even know if she wanted children before that, you know?” 

“Fitz, you did everything you could” Coulson started. 

Fitz shook his head vehemently. “No. No, I didn’t. I lost her, and I have no idea how to get her back.”

Mack sighed, defeated. 

“Turbo…”

“I know you all believe she’s dead” he spat, “I know you all believe I’ve lost my mind. And maybe I have, but I’m not ready to give up.”

“Fitz, no one believes you’ve lost your mind” Bobbi interjected, wiping a tear from her cheek. 

“Yes you do” Fitz replied. “And I don’t care. I don’t care about anything, but finding Jemma. I can’t… she’s pregnant, Bobbi. It was our mistake, and now she’s alone to face the consequences.” 

“Fitz” Bobbi said, kneeling down as well. “You tried. OK? You tried your hardest. Everybody knows that.”

She wiped a tear sliding down his cheek with her thumb, the first loving gesture he’d received in a very long time. He leaned slightly into the touch, before shaking his head.

“No” he insisted. “I’ve missed something.”

As he raised his hands up to rub at his face, he caught sight of something on his fingers. Something that definitely wasn’t there before he burst into the room with a shotgun.

“I’ve missed something” he repeated, staring at it.

Bobbi’s eyes fell on Fitz’s hand, before looking up at him. “What is that?” 

Coulson took a breath.

“Proof.” 

He didn’t wait for the team to react, jumping to his feet as he ran off the room, towards the lab. 

_ A couple of months after Jemma’s disappearance, Fitz went to her room for the first time. Ever since their night together had happened, he didn’t have the heart to step back into it, even as his body ached for her scent. But it had been four months since their night together, and two since he’d last seen Jemma. He ached for her every minute of every day, and the only way to get a little taste of her was in her room.  _

_ Pushing the door open, his heart dropped as he laid eyes on the bed. If he closed his eyes hard enough, he could still feel Jemma’s lips on his as she ran her hands down his chest. This night they’d spend together had been simultaneously the best and worst of Fitz’s life. Best because it was everything he’d ever dreamed of, being with Jemma and making love with her, but worst because it was not at all the way he’d planned it. He’d tried to push his worries away, but he was too afraid of her running away after that. They hadn’t talked about his feelings, his confession and he wasn’t ready to get his heart broken again.  _

_ So he’d ran, right after. Because he couldn’t stand the idea of her doing it first.  _

_ But now, standing in her room as he looked around the things as she’d left everything off, he wanted to cry. He wanted to cry as he laid eyes on the bed where they’d had sex, where they’d made love. He wanted to cry when he closed the door behind him and took in the scent of her, so familiar and reassuring. He wanted to cry when he saw some of the researches she’d been working on scattered on her desk, as well as the pile of clothes on her chair by the bed. She’d always had been a little messy, way more than he ever was.  _

_ Taking a deep breath, Fitz moved around the room awkwardly. He didn’t know how Jemma would react if she knew he was there. Would she be upset? Would she invite him in? The last few weeks before her disappearance had been hard, mostly because of the awkwardness between the two of them. He could see how hurt Jemma was, and he’d tried to make it seem like everything would go back to normal but… the reality was different. Everytime he looked at her, he could see the way she’d reacted at his touches, her pupils dark with want and her mouth parted around a moan. He couldn’t erase from his mind the way her breasts had bounced when she’d ridden him, or how well they fit in his hands. He couldn’t stop thinking about the way her body had welcomed him so easily and well, as if they’d been made for each other.  _

_ With a sigh, Fitz opened the door to the bathroom attached to the room. He needed to splash his face with cold water, and pee before going to bed. It was past 2 in the morning, and he couldn’t find sleep, like so many nights before that. He’d finally given up on sleeping in his own room, and here he was. Surrounded by Jemma’s scent, he could already feel himself relax a little bit more than usual.  _

_ As soon as he opened the light of the bathroom, he squinted at the brightness. He remembered Jemma asking him to change the lightbulbs when they’d moved in the playground, because she couldn’t do her makeup properly with the old lamps that had been installed. He also remembered thinking that she looked gorgeous without makeup anyway, this day. As he opened the tap, splashing some water onto his face before blindly reaching for a towel, he felt his fingers brush against something that fell on the floor with the motion of his hand.  _

_ “Shit” he cursed, eyes still closed as he finally caught the towel and wiped out his face.  _

_ He’d knocked against a little box, box that he didn’t remember seeing before in Jemma’s bathroom. Feeling awful for invading her privacy even though she wasn’t here, he knelt on the floor to retrieve it, and put it back where he’d found it quickly. _

_ Which was when he saw what it was, and his heart stopped beating for a couple of seconds.  _

_ “What” he let out, feeling his entire body freeze in shock.  _

_ There, on the cold floor of the bathroom, lay a pregnancy test. And most importantly, a  _ **_positive_ ** _ pregnancy test. It took Fitz awfully long to make a move, kneeling on the floor to grab the test between trembling fingers before staring back at the box. He could see that there were a few other things in it, and without thinking, he spilled the rest of its content on the floor. Between a few scribbled post its, Fitz found two other tests. All three tests were from various brands by the looks of it, but all three were positive. With a spinning head and a short breath, Fitz finally picked up the few notes. Jemma’s handwriting was neat and adorable, but most certainly recognizable. The first three notes were places and names he didn’t recognize, but when he picked up the last one, Fitz realized what he was staring at the moment he saw the dates on the paper.  _

_ Last period - 13/05 _

_ Last sexual intercourse - 25/05 _

_ Today’s date - 27/08 _

_ Tell Fitz before the end of the month!! _

_ She’d outlined the last sentence twice, with shaky fingers from what he gathered at the messy lines. Letting out a breath he didn’t know he was holding, Fitz felt his eyes grow wet. _

_ “Oh Jemma” he whispered, fingers brushing against the paper gently.  _

_ When he curled on Jemma’s bed soon after, it was with tears rolling down his cheeks and the first test he’d laid eyes upon clenched in his hands. _

**-**

“Sand” Fitz explained a few hours later in Coulson’s office. “Not just sand, impossible sand.”

He turned around to face the team. 

“The monolith’s case is a clean room” Mack pointed out. “There’s nothing in there but that rock, not even dust.”

“Unless you blast it open with a shotgun and contaminate everything” Hunter added, from the corner of the room. 

Fitz sighed, looking down at his feet. 

“That’s not what this is” Bobbi insisted immediately.

“OK, the sand itself, not unusual.” Fitz stated, losing patience. “Mostly silicon dioxide particles. Just like on Earth.”

From the other end of the room, he could see Coulson’s eyes never leaving him. The director had both hands on his hips, and Fitz knew that his chance to convince Coulson that the monolith was a portal was now or never. 

“But you’re saying the sand is not from Earth” Coulson asked.

Bobbi interjected immediately. ”Sir, carbon dating shows that--”

“It predates the Earth by billion years” Fitz interrupted.

His declaration was followed by a silence, during which Bobbi and him exchanged a look. It was the first tangible proof they’d had in months, and Fitz could see in her eyes that she finally believed him. Now, he needed the rest of the team to do the same. 

“So you think the rock is a portal” Daisy asked, taking a step towards him. 

Fitz pointed at her as he replied. “No. No. I’m proving that it’s a portal, ok? To another planet. A very old planet. A crack in space-time that carried Simmons away and carried the sand back. Which means…”

“She’s out there” Coulson finished for him. 

As he looked up at him, Fitz could see the way Coulson’s eye shined with a renewed light as he took a closer look at the readings on the screen. 

“But it’s been months” Coulson added. 

Fitz nodded. “Yeah.”

“She could be long gone from wherever this thing dropped her.”

“Yeah” Fitz managed painfully. Of course he’d thought about that before.

“She could be dead.”

This time, Fitz threw his hands up as he turned around, facing Coulson as he’d crept closer. 

“Yes!”

Coulson nodded, the tiniest smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. “But we’re gonna find out, are we?”

“Yeah” Bobbi replied immediately.   
“Damn right” Mack added, just as Daisy let out another “Yeah”.

Fitz felt himself shake with emotions as he looked around the room, at their friends and their shy smiled as they looked back at him. For the first time in what felt like forever, they believed in him, and they had gained their hopes back. 

“Ok Fitz” Coulson said. “What do you need?”

“Well, uh. More historical data” he supplied, blinking back tears. “People have studied this thing for centuries. I need an expert on quantum mechanics and Einstein-Rosen Bridge theory.” and, more for himself than anything, he muttered “and a sandwich would be nice.”

“I might have an idea” Coulson said “about the other things.”

Getting Elliott Randolph on board with their crazy idea had been simpler than Fitz had thought. As soon as they’d mentioned the monolith, he’d followed them to the base to study it. When he’d gotten a look at the monolith and seen it change matter, he brought the only thing Fitz hadn’t thought of: the idea that the monolith was not following Earth’s pattern, but the other planet’s. Finally, with their word that they’d destroy the portal as soon as Jemma was back, he accepted to help them.

“I have seen those words carved into the walls of a castle in Gloucestershire, England, in 1853” Elliott eventually said when he saw the piece of paper that Fitz had retrieved from Morocco. When he looked up at Fitz, the younger man could almost see hope shining in his eyes as he smiled. “To the plane!”

England was not like he remembered, was the first thing Fitz thought as soon as he stepped foot out of the plane. It felt weird, to be there without Jemma. They’d often came back together, to see her parents or his mum, back when they had time and money to take a few vacations. He missed his mum, he realized with a pang in his heart, he missed Jemma’s parents, too. They’d always been so nice to him whenever he came back with her during the holidays, even invited his mum for Christmas a few times, so that they could all spend it together. Both their mums absolutely adored each other, and he felt at peace knowing that she would have friends to turn to if anything ever happened to him. 

“Yes, yes yes!” Elliott said as soon as he stepped foot into the castle. “I came here for a costume ball, which was a pretext of course. I’d heard rumors of travel to the stars. Found it all to be nonsense, but it was a fun party.”

“The carvings?” Coulson pressed. 

And there, right in front of Fitz’s eyes, the same words that were written on the scroll were carved into the wall of the castle. 

“Death” he murmured. 

“Maveth” Elliott corrected. “Yeah, one of its translations is actually ‘death by punishment’.”

“Could mean no trespassing” Coulson added, glancing at Fitz from the corner of his eyes.

As they looked around, Coulson found what he’d refer later as a “secret door” (Fitz sometimes wondered if Coulson hadn’t taken a little too much of Tony Stark when working with the Avengers), leading to a dark tunnel. 

“You’re certain about this?” Eliott asked, baffled. “It does say death by punishment”. 

But Fitz was already walking down the halway, and the rest of them eventually followed. As he walked, Fitz could feel his heartbeat resonate in his ears, hope clinging its way through his entire body. The more they found out about the monolith, the more his theory was confirmed and the closer he got to finding Jemma. 

“It sure got some life to it” Coulson said as soon as they arrived in a late 1800s powered room, finding the lights and turning them on to reveal a sort of dungeon. 

Pieces of old machinery were scattered around the place, and Bobbi frowned after a few seconds. 

“I hear water. Could be a stream underground, maybe hydroelectric power.” she said. 

It only took Fitz and Elliott a few minutes to find the lever connected to all the wirings they could see around the place, and Elliott didn’t hesitate a second before pulling it. As soon as he did, a circle at the center of the room started moving, leaving place to a deep well.

Bobbi raised an eyebrow. “This looks a lot like it was made to hold—“

“The monolith” Fitz finished for her. “This machine” he pointed at the old junk next to him “was designed to control the portal. To open and close it at will.”

“Do you know that?” Coulson asked, kindly. “Or is that just what you hope it to be?” 

Fitz held his gaze as he replied. 

“Well, there’s only one way to find out.”

**-**

As soon as the monolith was in place, Fitz could feel himself vibrate with excitation. He knew they were close, he could feel it in his bones, and he wasn’t ready to give up now. No matter what Coulson or Elliott said, he was gonna bring Jemma back. 

“Realistically, what are the odds of this thing working?” Daisy asked as she stepped inside the room, looking around the old technology with a critical eye.

“If we were realistic” Coulson pointed out, “we’d never have gotten this far.” 

Fitz was no idiot, far from it. He could feel the team’s gazes on his back as he worked, ordering Mack and Elliott around as they worked on the machine. As soon as it started coming to live though, they all looked around in wonder, realizing that the idea might not have been the worst they’d had yet. And when the monolith suddenly turned into liquid again, they all gasped collectively. 

“Fitz, it’s working!” Bobbi exclaimed. 

“Everybody stay clear!” Mack screamed, raising his hands for them to fall back.

“It stayed open” Fitz said as he knelt at the edge of the well, looking at the dark matter of the stone as it vibrated like disturbed water at the bottom. “Light, I need more light!” 

Vaguely, he heard Daisy grunt in pain as the vibrations started to become stronger. Behind him, Mack screamed. 

“We’ve got a problem!”

“I need some bloody light!” Fitz screamed again. 

“Fitz!” 

He barely had time to look up before Coulson threw him the firelight, that he shot straight through the portal. He looked at it disappear, actually praying to all the Gods he could think of as he thought about Jemma. Would she see the light? Would see know that he was there, looking for her? 

“The gear is locked!” Mack suddenly said from behind him, as Bobbi rushed to his side to help him. But the equipment was ancient, and soon the entire structure collapsed at the same time as Daisy, falling in Coulson’s arms. As soon as the vibration stopped, the monolith turned to stone again, and Fitz pushed his head in his hands. 

It took a while for Daisy to come back to awareness.

“We have to fix it!” Fitz screamed from behind her, as he tried to get the gears back together.

“We can fix it, but you gotta chill” Mack insisted. “How are we supposed to fix a machine when we don’t know how it works?” 

“It’ll just rattle apart again. We have to reinforce the connections.”

“Reinforce?” Mack sighed. “Look, most of the workings are under the ground. We just can’t tear the castle down. We’re lucky the room was shaped this way, or the machine might have shaken apart on top of us.” 

As soon as the words were out of Mack’s mouth, he saw Fitz freeze. 

“Wait” he said, getting up. “Wait, yeah yeah yeah! That’s the point. Quantum harmonic oscillation theory, like the professor said.”

“I know that look” Bobbi whispered. 

“It’s a strange shape for this time period because it is made to resonate, to create a quantized field within the stone.”

Coulson and Daisy looked up, confused. 

“Fitz” Coulson said “you're talking, but we’re not totally following.” 

Fitz nodded. “The room is a speaker. The machine is an amplifier. A sub-sonic frequency, to resonate with the monolith.” 

“You’re saying you figured out a way to fix the machine?” Mack asked, hopeful.

Fitz took a deep breath. “No, I’m saying I’ve figured out--”

“We don’t have to” Daisy said, interrupting him. 

Her gaze was fixed on the stone in the middle of the room. 

“I can do it” she said, getting up. “I can open the portal myself.” 

It took them less than an hour to build a structure around the monolith, to make sure that they could safely pull Simmons out of Maveth with a tugboat screwed to the floor. 

“If the point of the machine was to resonate the room at a certain frequency” Daisy said, walking around as she supervised the structure. “I can do that.”

“And you can replicate it?” Coulson asked, unsure. 

“Kind of drilled into my brain.”

“And it could kill you. How long do you think you can hold it?” 

Daisy sighed. “Maybe a minute” she replied truthfully. 

“If it’s too much” Coulson warned, “you pull back. I can’t lose you too.“

She smiled at him. “I got this.” 

Soon enough, Bobbi was barging into the room with the latest drones her and Fitz had been working on, to keep a visual on the other side. And under Elliott’s confused gaze, she started to quake the side of the machine, tuning in to find the perfect vibration. As everyone around her started to move, Fitz used the distraction to grab the cable meant for the drone, keeping it firmly in his hands. The team probably wouldn’t understand, and they would definitely not agree with this if he’d told them. But there was no way he would let Jemma alone on Maveth, even if he had to find himself stuck on the other side too. And as soon as the monolith turned liquid again, he turned to face Daisy. 

“Hold it open as soon as you can” he said, before clipping the hook to his belt and jumping straight through the portal. 

When he blinked his eyes open on the other side, the first thing he noticed was the sand. It was everywhere, flying around him in what looked like a storm, penetrating his mouth and attacking his eyes. The planet’s atmosphere seemed different as well, and he felt dizzy for a few seconds before taking a tentative step forward. Which was when he saw the figure running towards him, squinting through the sand. 

“Fitz!” 

As he started running towards the shadow, he realized that it was a man. He looked tired, worn out even, and incredibly dirty. His clothes were filled with holes and covered in dirt, his beard was long and his hair disheveled. But most importantly, this man was currently carrying someone he’d recognize everywhere.

“Jemma” he whispered as soon as he reached them. Then, he looked up at the stranger. “This way, the portal!” 

Fortunately for Fitz, his grip on the man’s hips was strong enough to pull him towards the portal with the help of the hook still attached to his belt. Fitz could feel the man’s exhaustion as they ran, his entire body shaking with effort as he held Jemma close, the portal coming closer with every step. 

And then, everything turned black. 

When Fitz came to his senses, the first thing he did was to look to his left, making sure that he hadn’t dreamed. There, still held tightly by his hand on a dirty and worn out shirt, was the man he’d seen on Maveth. Almost in concert, they both looked down at Jemma, the woman still half covered in dust as she tried to blink her eyes open. 

“Oh my god” Fitz heard Coulson say from above. 

“Jemma” he whispered, feeling his eyes water. 

He didn’t hold back his tears, this time. Next to him, the unknown man did the same, letting out a small hysterical laugh at the same time. 

“Fitz” Jemma croaked . “You found me.”

**-**

Fitz didn’t actually register the presence of other man -Will, he’d said his name was Will- until they had to leave the well. Logically, he knew that Will was there (he’d pulled him from Maveth after all), but he didn’t realize what it meant until he saw the way he immediately fussed over Jemma. Fitz was still dizzy with everything that had happened in such a short time, but the moment he realized how tightly Jemma’s arms closed around Will’s figure as she struggled to get used to Earth’s gravity, he felt his stomach plummet. He immediately felt awful for it, but he couldn’t help his heartbreak, could he? 

“We need oxygen” Will said urgently, looking up at the team. “Please, she needs oxygen!” 

Fitz snapped out of his transe in seconds. He knew the team would get everything they needed as soon as possible, so it was his job to make sure everything was alright with Jemma in the meantime. 

“Jemma” he whispered, kneeling in the dirt by Will’s side. “Are you okay?” 

“Yeah” she whispered, eyes fluttering close. “Too much noise, it hurts.” 

He couldn’t resist putting a hand against her neck, swallowing back tears at the contact. He’d missed her so much, he could hardly believe she was here by his side again. 

“The planet’s gravity is different” Will said, finally. “She must be a bit nauseous.”

When Fitz looked up at him, he couldn’t find it in his heart to be mad at the man. Will looked exhausted, the dark circles under his eyes were almost purple and his entire body shook as he tried to sit still, never letting go of Jemma. 

“Are  _ you _ okay?” he asked, putting two fingers against Will’s neck as he took his heartbeat as well, making sure he wasn’t going to faint.

Will smiled weakly. “Never been better.” 

“Fitz” Jemma whispered again, looking at him with tears in his eyes. “I’m…” 

Looking down at her belly, still partially hidden by the dust of the rock, Fitz swallowed. 

“I know” he said with a nod. “I know, Jemma. I’m so sorry.” 

When Bobbi returned with two oxygen masks, Fitz applied them to both Will and Jemma quickly. Then, it took a few minutes and a lot of arm strength (it was Mack’s doing, really) to get them out of the well. Jemma was incapable of standing on her own two feet, and they rushed her in the containment pod quickly. Will followed close, eyes wide as he looked around him, never leaving Jemma’s side. 

“She needs to lay down on her right side” he said as soon as Mack lay Jemma down on the medical bed. “She can’t sleep otherwise. The baby puts too much pressure on her bladder.” 

The words sliced through Fitz’s heart like a knife. It was obvious that most of the team tried not to stare at her swollen belly, still it used to the idea that Jemma was carrying a baby. Obediently, Mack gently turned her on her right side, and Will sat on the floor next to her in seconds. 

“We can get you another bed” Fitz said immediately, keeping an eye on Bobbi as she checked Jemma’s vitals, hooking up to a few machines. “You don’t have to stay on the floor.” 

Will actually chuckled at the idea. “You know, even this floor is comfortable compared to the place I’ve spent the last 14 years in.”

Behind him, Daisy blinked.

“Did you just say 14 years?” she asked, a little breathless. 

Will nodded. “Yep. Went through that portal in 2001. I guess I’ve missed a few things, but Jemma did promise me that Fitz had the best high resolution TV of the entire SHIELD base.” 

It felt overwhelming, really, to see this man he didn’t know talk about Jemma like this. It wasn’t jealousy per say, but Fitz’s heart clenched all the same as he looked at his unconscious lab partner, belly swollen with his child as she breathed in and out deeply. He had no idea how Will had gotten on Maveth, and for how long he and Jemma had been surviving together. But it didn’t really matter, in the end. Will had been there for Jemma when she’d needed him the most, through her pregnancy for six entire months. He’d never get to take those months back, he’d never get to see her belly grow with each passing weeks and he’d never get to feel the first kicks, or watch her face light up with joy the first time the baby had moved. 

“Fitz” Coulson said, pressing a hand against his shoulder. “You should sit.”

He hadn’t realized that he was hyperventilating until Coulson had brought him back to reality. With a firm shake of his head though, he looked back at Jemma. 

“I need to stay with her” he rasped, eyes pleading. “I wanna make sure… I need…”

“It’s okay” Bobbi said, voice soothing. “Maybe you can sit down with Will, right?” 

The man in question was looking back at him. To Fitz’s surprise, there wasn’t any pity or judgement in his eyes, only comprehension and kindness. 

“Yeah man” he said, mentioning to the place next to him. “If you can live with the smell, you’ve got a designed seat.” 

And it was at this very moment that Fitz realized that no matter what had happened on this planet, he could never hate Will. 

**-**

“Simmons and Will didn’t have to go through quarantine” Coulson said a little while later, when they were back at the base and debriefing. “which is good, all things considered.”

Fitz was buzzing with anxiety, wishing nothing more than to be with her instead of in the lab with his team. Ever since he’d laid eyes on her again, he’d felt terrified at the idea of leaving her alone. He had no idea how to act around her, and for a short moment he’d realized that it was easier to handle Will than Jemma when she’d woken up as they were approaching the base. All tests had come back as positive as they could have been in those circumstances, and when Bobbi and the medical team wanted to make more tests on both Jemma and the baby, she’d begged for a shower beforehand. Sensing Fitz’s distress and obvious anxiety, Will had offered to help her, silently begging them to be trusted. And Fitz had, because what else could he do? Even though it broke his heart and made him ache in a way he didn’t even know was possible, Will was more a partner and father than he’d ever be. The way Jemma had leaned against him as they walked to the showers had been proof enough that he didn’t have his place in this relationship. 

“What exactly are these ‘things’ that we’re ‘considering’?” Mack pressed immediately. 

Bobbi stepped in. “Everything that comes with being on another planet for months.”

“Different atmosphere, different levels of oxygenation, different microgravity” Fitz supplied, voice quiet. “Every system in her body is out of whack. Cardiovascular, inner ear, respiratory, all got used to being not here. Will ain’t faring much better, but he’s stronger and more used to it, being trained as an astronaut.”

He didn’t mention the fact that Jemma also had another life growing inside of her, but he knew everyone heard it anyway. 

“Labs indicate oxidative stress” Daisy added, “Vitamin D deficiency, upper respiratory irritation. All things we have to consider for her pregnancy as well, which is why we’ve requested more tests. As soon as they’re out of the shower, they’re back in the medical yard, Simmons in priority.”

Luckily for both Fitz’s worries and imagination, their shower didn’t take long. A little after the end of the debrief, Jemma was back in the medical bay, still clinging to Will’s arm as he helped her sit back on the bed. For a few seconds, Fitz hovered around the entrance. Was he allowed to enter? Would Jemma want him here? 

“Fitz” Will said when he caught sight of him. For whatever reason Fitz didn’t understand, he smiled. “Come in.” 

They both looked better, and slightly more relaxed after having showered. Jemma even smiled at him as he entered, and he resisted the urge to run up to her and squeeze her in his arms to never let her go. 

“We’re gonna check that everything’s alright with the little one now” one of the doctors said, preparing the material for the echography. 

From the corner of his eyes, Fitz saw Jemma tense. Will must have seen it as well, because he immediately caught her hand in a reassuring hold. Fitz felt a little out of place, and for a couple of seconds, he felt like he might just start crying right here and then. 

“Do you… do you want me to stay?” he eventually asked. 

As soon as he did, two pair of eyes looked up at him. 

“Of course I want you to stay” Jemma replied, brows frowned. Then, her face fell a little. “Only if you want to, of course. I didn’t mean to--”

“I do!” Fitz rushed. “I do. I just didn’t know…” 

He didn’t know if he was welcome anymore, he didn’t finish. He might have been this baby’s biological father, but it didn’t compare to the man currently sitting by Jemma’s side holding her hand. The man who’d confessed while Jemma was unconscious that she sometimes had troubles sleeping on Maveth, and that he’d had to boil water to push warm cloths against the small of her back when it was too painful. The man who’d given her most of his food because she carried a baby, and was ready to stay back if it meant her leaving the planet. 

“I can go, if you want?” Will finally offered, looking between the two of them. 

“No!” Fitz said immediately. “No, I didn’t mean… I don’t…” 

He took a deep breath, feeling himself growing more and more anxious. 

“Fitz” Jemma said, patient as ever. “It’s okay.” 

Neither of the men talked about leaving again, after that. They looked as Jemma rolled up her shirt to expose her belly, and Fitz felt oddly dizzy as he looked at her barren flesh. The last time he’d seen Jemma’s body, they were making love in the intimacy of their bedroom. Now the fruit of that love was tenting her belly, and soon they’d have a child of their own. 

“Do you want to know the sex?” the doctor asked she lubed up the probe, before gently applying it against Jemma’s belly. 

Immediately, Jemma turned her eyes towards Fitz. He looked back at her, throat tight, as he replied.

“It’s your decision, Jem.” 

Her eyes were shiny with unshed tears when she turned back towards the doctor. 

“Yes, please.” 

Will squeezed her hand, and Fitz bit back a wave of nausea. Thankfully for him, the doctor chose this exact moment to turn on the sound of the echography. The rapid sound of his baby’s beating heart caught Fitz entirely by surprise, and he felt his heart swell. When he’d never really thought about having children (it had been him and his mom for so long, no immediate family or even relatives, and he didn’t really get interested in girls that much), he knew that the only person he’d ever consider having kids with would be Jemma. It wasn’t just because he was madly in love with her, although it played a huge part of course, but it was mostly because they knew each other by heart. Jemma knew his worst sides, just as she knew his best. She’d never sugarcoat anything when it came to her children, and she’d never let him turn into his father either. But listening to the heartbeat that resonated in the small medical yard, Fitz felt like his heart might burst out of his chest with love. He hadn’t planned this child, neither of them had, but he couldn’t imagine his life without this baby now. There was nothing in the world that Fitz loved more than Jemma Simmons and science, but looking at the black and white silhouette of his child on the monitor in front of him, he realized that maybe there would be a third special place in his heart very soon.

“Everything appears to be normal” the doctor said, bringing Fitz back to Earth. “coupled with the blood samples we got from Agent Morse, I think we can safely say that this baby is perfectly healthy.” 

It was all it took for Jemma to start crying, tears of joy rolling down her face as she let go of Will’s hand and hid her face as she sobbed. Fitz restrained himself from running towards her, feeling his heart break at the sight. He truly had no idea what Jemma had gone through on Maveth, but he knew from the way Will’s face dimmed when he’d asked about it that it was a lot. She’d carried a baby on an alien planet for six whole months, growing a life inside of her while trying to survive on roots and whatever she could find on her path. And like everything she ever did, she’d done it brilliantly. 

“Everything’s fine, Jemma” Will whispered, his hand carefully brushing her arm. “You did amazing, I told you everything would be fine.” 

“I just….” she sobbed, rubbing at her reddening cheeks to wipe off her salty tears. “I was so scared. Constantly. Everytime the baby stopped moving, I thought my body had gotten too weak to handle the pregnancy. Everytime I felt a kick or a pain, I thought I was going through an early labor. I was so  _ scared _ .” 

Her voice broke again at the end of her sentence, and Fitz took a step forward before he realized what he was doing. But just as he reached out to reassure her, touch her hands or dry her tears, his gaze fell on Will, and he stopped. His arms fell back by his sides, and he swallowed the tears that so desperately wanted to spill out of his eyes as he saw a flash of anger in Will’s pupils. 

“I can tell you that it’s a very healthy little girl” the doctor offered, taking away the probe, leaving the place strangely empty without the sound of the baby’s heartbeat. “I took the liberty of printing a few pictures, and I will of course give you the full results for further analysis, Doctor Simmons.” 

A little girl. Fitz couldn’t help the grin that spread on his face. He was having a little girl. A little girl that’d probably look just like Jemma, with her big eyes and gorgeous face. God, he hoped she’d look just like her mother on every point. 

“Hey, it’s a girl” Will said, catching Jemma’s hand in his. “Just like you said it would be, Jem. You were right It’s a little girl..” 

And with those words, Fitz’s heart plummeted again. He looked back at Jemma just in time to see her smile through her tears, gaze shifting from the monitor to Will in wonder. They didn’t need him here, just like they didn’t need him back on Maveth, and it was selfish of him to interfere. Of course he’d looked for dirt on Will, it was one of the first things he did when Jemma was still unconscious and both were being tested for radiations. But he hadn’t found anything, because he was a great man, who just happened to have fallen in love with Jemma Simmons. How could Fitz even blame him for this? He was no competition, and he knew it. So he did the only logical thing he could think of, and walked away silently. 

* * *

The lab was quiet at this time of night, thankfully for him. After running away from the medical bay, Fitz had spent the rest of his day avoiding any human contact, needing time to handle his emotions. He’d found himself hidden in the darkest corners of the base to cry his heart out, clutching at his heart as if the pain of his fingers digging into his skin through his shirt would ease the hollow in his chest. But now the base was mostly asleep, corridors empty as he’d walked back to the lab to mindlessly build something and hopefully get his mind to focus on something else than a child he’d probably never get to see grow. Ever since his father had left him when he was just a child, he’d found that building things was the best medicine to get him through the night. There was no way he’d fall asleep anyway, and a small part of him missed sleeping in Jemma’s bed, surrounded by her scent.

“Are you fucking serious?” 

Will’s voice boomed from behind him, just as he finished taking apart one of the holo tables. Fitz jumped in surprise, dropping his screwdriver as he turned around the face the other man. 

“What?” he half squealed. 

“You know” Will said as he approached in quick strides, pushing his finger against Fitz’s chest. “During all those months I’ve spent with Jemma on that God forsaken planet, I’ve heard quite a lot about you. And by quite a lot, I mean probably most than you’d be comfortable knowing.” 

Fitz felt himself flush, at loss for words. His fingers clenched around the screwdriver he’d quickly retrieved from the floor.

“But” Will kept going, ignoring the way he struggled for words, mouth opening and closing without being able to say anything “never once did Jemma told me about you being such a coward.” 

This time, surprise let place to confusion in Fitz’s mind. 

“What?” he repeated with more force, frowning. 

“Now I know this entire baby situation wasn’t planned” Will said, throwing his hands up. “But the Fitz Jemma babbled about all the time at night on Maveth isn’t the one I’ve seen barge out of med bay while she cried out of relief because your child, the child you  _ both _ created, was alright.”

This time, Fitz felt himself flush with something more than confusion. Anger bloomed inside of his chest, and he pushed Will back with force.

“I didn’t want to!” he protested immediately. “Do you think I ever wanted to leave her, especially in that moment?” 

“Then why the hell did you do it?” 

“Because I didn’t want to take your place!” 

Fitz hadn’t realized he was yelling before the words left his mouth, the silence in the lab deafening after such an outburst. Will was staring back at him, now harboring the same exact confused expression.

“I didn’t want to come between you two” Fitz sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “I wanted to stay, I wanted to see the echography, wanted to see this baby so badly… But I realized afterwards how unfair of me it was to stand there with you two, between you two.” 

He let his hands drop down his sides, turning around to face away from Will as his eyes watered with unshed tears. He’d been strong enough to keep his emotions to himself in front of Jemma and Will back in med bay, but this was a little too much. Staring at the holo table so hard it felt like his gaze could pierce a hole right through it, he took a deep calming breath. 

“Wait a minute” Will said, willing Fitz to face him once again. “I know you’re a genius and all but… You do know the baby’s yours, right?” 

Fitz had the decency to look slightly offended at this. “Of course I know she’s mine!” he scoffed, his Scottish accent coming out stronger than before with his emotions. 

“Then I simply don’t understand what you’re talking about” Will admitted with a sigh, rubbing a hand against his beard. 

The two men stared at each other in silence for a few seconds. 

“I want Jemma to be happy” Fitz finally whispered, voice tight. “I care more about her being happy than I do about myself, because I love her more than anything in the world. And it’s important for me that you know that it includes seeing her with another man, if this is what she choses.” 

His throat felt tight and his eyes burned with the need to cry again, but Fitz didn’t look away from Will’s face as he said this. 

“Wait a second” Will finally said, his eyes never leaving Fitz’s. “I think… I think there’s been a misunderstanding here.” 

“What? No, I’m pretty sure--” 

“Fitz” Will stopped him with a firm hand against his shoulders. “I’m gay.”

“...What?”

Fitz blinked. For a second, they looked at each other in complete silence before Will burst into a small nervous giggle, running a shaky hand through his hair.

“Oh Lord, we’re so stupid” he groaned. “I’m gay, and I’m not dating Jemma or whatever story you’ve been telling yourself since we came back. Which, to be honest, looked a little bit like we were together and I do understand the confusion. But trust me when I say that nothing’s going on between the two of us.”

Fitz blinked. “But… You two.. The hand holding, and the bet on the baby’s sex…” 

“It was Jemma’s doing, honestly. She was so worried she’d lose the baby during the last few weeks, so we tried to keep ourselves busy thinking about something else. And after spending so much time together trying not to die on an alien planet, we kind of got used to touching each other all the time.”

A rush of relief crashed at once on Fitz’s shoulders, and he pulled up a chair to sit on it, pushing his head in his hands immediately.

“I’m so stupid” he moaned, the sound muffled by the skin of his palms. 

“You’re not stupid” Will countered immediately. “You’re… Well. Jemma did talk a lot about you on Maveth, I didn’t lie about that. But I did kind of think she was exaggerating most of the time, because no one could actually be so perfect. Especially a straight man.” 

From between his hands, Fitz snorted.

“Yeah, right” he said, letting his hands drop on his knees to look up at Will. “Because a SHIELD scientist with brain damage she made the mistake of sleeping with one time sounds so dreamy.” 

Will actually frowned at that, crossing his arms against his chest. 

“She never told me you were that self deprecating, though.” He sighed, pulling out another chair to sit next to Fitz. “No, Fitz. She told me about her best friend, a child’s prodigy and brilliant mind who’d stuck by her side since she was 16, through her first heartbreaks and self doubts, and who’d followed her in Coulson’s team even though he was terrified. She told me about a man who didn’t even hesitate to save her life at the bottom of the ocean, because he loved her too much to let her die. She told me about a man who’d do anything to find her, and who actually dove through a hole through the universe for her before she had to give birth on that fucking planet.”    
  
He stopped, taking a deep breath. 

“So no, Fitz. I don’t think she was exaggerating how perfect you can be, but I don’t think she realizes how much you care about her. What you just told me? That you’d do anything to make her happy even though it meant seeing her with another man’s hand in hers as you looked at your child on the monitor? That’s… that’s big, Fitz.” 

Fitz swallowed a sob. “I love her” he replied, simply. 

“I know” Will said with a smirk. “I got that part right at least.” 

“You must think I’m so stupid.”

Will scoffed immediately. 

“Honestly? The word stupid never even once crossed my mind. You know, Jemma’s a pretty special person, and I wondered how anyone could live up to her. But here you are.”

Fitz shook his head immediately. “No” he said, “I don’t deserve her.” 

Will smiled.

“And that, right here, is precisely why you do.” 

He moved to get up, putting the chair back where he’d found it before turning around to face Fitz again. 

“Oh, I almost forgot” he said, pulling out a phone from the back pocket of his jeans. “Jemma asked me to give you this. When she first arrived on Maveth, she documented a lot of things. Took some picture, and some videos. She said she wanted you to see them, if you can recover the data that is. She said she always felt better, having you as her second pair of eyes.” 

Fitz couldn’t help the small smile that stretched his lips. “Thank you, Will” he said as he took the phone, playing with it nervously. 

“You’re welcome, pal.”

“No, I mean…” Fitz paused, taking a deep breath. “Thank you. For taking care of Jemma, when you were there. I owe you so much.” 

Will smiled. “Thank  _ you _ for finding us. Also, when you’re done with the phone… Jemma’s in her room.” 

He gave him a pointed look, before turning around, leaving Fitz alone in the lab again. He allowed himself a few seconds to take in what he’d just heard, fighting himself not to just run to her room and cry in her arms. Will had given him the phone for a reason, and he needed some time to process their discussion as well. Soon enough, he was opening the broken phone, pulling the memory card from its center gently. A few simple manipulations were luckily enough to retrieve its data, and soon enough his screen lit up with downloading pictures and videos. The first one started playing as soon as it was downloaded entirely.

_ “Happy birthday Jemma!”  _ Fitz smiled, remembering this day like it was yesterday. He’d been so sad not to be with Jemma during her birthday, but he knew how much she’d missed her family. He had hoped to make her smile with this little video, and he had no idea she’d actually kept it all this time.  _ “Happy birthday Jemma. It’s not the same without you here. Say hi to your parents for me, and i’ll see you soon.” _

He remembered her calling him that night, touched by the video and oh so happy to have spent some time with her family. He remembered how she’d switched from an audio to video call just for him to greet her parents, and how happy he’d felt at the idea of being included in her family. 

The next few pictures loaded quickly. The first one gave him a clearer view of Maveth, without the sandstorm he’d found himself in. 

“Wow, two moons. Bloody hell” he whispered, taking the sight in. 

The next picture was a selfie of Jemma, and he felt his heart swell at the sight. She looked so tired yet hopeful, and by the looks of her, she must have been on the planet for barely a week when she’d taken it. He scrolled through a few more pictures before he found one that made his heart ache in a totally different way. It must have been Will’s doing, because it was a picture of Jemma sitting on a camp bed, legs hanging from the edge as she pushed a hand against the swell of her back. The picture gave a view of her side, and the light from a fire behind her made her silhouette stand out against the rest of the room. Even with the shadows, Fitz could see the way her eyes were closed as she frowned, her face bent towards her swollen belly as a few strands of hair covered her cheeks. The picture had no special context, yet it spoke volumes. The worry and hurt on Jemma’s face was clear as day, and Fitz pushed his head in his hands just long enough to take a few deep, calming breaths.

_ “Fitz.” _ Jemma’s voice coming from the computer made him look up in surprise. One of the audio files of the phone had started playing automatically.  _ “it’s possible I’m on one of the poles, but it’s strange. The stars and the two moons, they keep disappearing and reappearing, but there’s no sun. There’s never a sun.” _

Fitz felt his eyes water. Still, he kept playing the other audio files. 

_ “It’s been three weeks, Fitz. If I don’t find something, if I don’t eat, I won’t make it.” _

Unable to hear any more of this one, Fitz clicked on the next file. Then, all of a sudden, in the middle of the audio files he browsed through, a video popped up. Fitz felt his heart clench at the sight of a worn out and thin Jemma looking back at the camera, her lips dry and sky white with the lack of sun. 

_ “Fitz, hi” _ she began, tentative smile playing on her lips.  _ “I don’t know why I’m still talking with you, why I’m recording myself. You’re never gonna see this, are you?” _

Straightening up in his chair, Fitz pushed his head against his clasped hand to prevent himself from biting on his nails out of anxiety. He’d never thought that the audios and videos he’d found would hit him that hard, but then again, what didn’t when it came to Jemma?

_ ‘I still haven’t found water, and it’s hmm, well, I… I’m having trouble focusing and I’m trying to stay positive, but I’m scared.” _

Her voice broke at the end of the sentence as she looked away, blinking away tears that he could see forming at the corner of her eyes. He wasn’t fairing much better as he watched, his blue eyes reddened with moisture. 

_ “I’m scared, Fitz”  _ Jemma kept going around a sob.  _ “Do you remember when we first met? I do. You were so quiet and pasty, and so incredibly smart and handsome”  _ she coughed, a dry and awful thing that would resonate in Fitz’s head for a long time.  _ “Quite a strange feeling, isn’t it? Never wanting to be without someone. You must have been so annoyed, me following you around all the time.” _

“No” Fitz croaked immediately, the sound muffled by his hands. “Never.” 

He wiped out a single tear rolling down his cheek with force. 

_ “I imagine our dinner sometimes… where we’d go, what we’d eat. I wonder about us a lot, actually. You know, I wanted to tell you about the baby that night. I even had everything planned… I was so nervous, Fitz. I thought you’d hate me, for being so reckless. During my worst anxious moments, I even pictured myself raising this baby alone, you know? Never thought it would be on a deserted planet, but I guess we can’t have it all… There’s a small cottage in Perthshire, we drove by once when I was a girl, some… some family holiday, and I don’t know why but I found it so lovely. I still think about it. A place where you and I could have… Could have raised this baby, some day.”  _ She stopped, sighing.  _ “But that’s that, I suppose. I’m not sure how long this battery will last. I should save it just in case. For more important things. But I’ll still talk to you on my own, if that’s all right. We’ll always be with you, Fitz.” _

Taking in a deep breath, Fitz pushed his head in his hands again, trying to compose himself. Then, abruptly, he pushed back the chair and got up, not even looking back as he headed to Jemma’s room. As soon as he was in front of the closed door though, he hesitated. Would Jemma want him there? Was she mad at him for the echography? Taking a deep breath, Fitz knocked gently on the door. It took less than a second for Jemma’s muffled “come in” to be heard, and with one last exhale of a breath, Fitz entered the room.

Jemma was lying on the bed on her side facing Fitz as he entered, wearing one of his old hoodies. The covers were rolled down her bare feet, and Fitz fought the urge to rush in and cover them. 

“Hey” he said, choking up immediately. 

Jemma smiled. “Hey, Fitz.” 

She pushed herself on her elbows with a wince, her belly looking huge. The shirt she was wearing was barely covering it entirely, and he silently thanked Daisy for her desire to rush to the nearest store and buy her maternity clothes in the morning. 

“No, don’t move” Fitz said immediately, closing the door behind him before sitting down on the free side of the bed. 

“I’m not made of glass, Fitz.” 

“I know. But you’ve also just came back from an alien planet 8 months pregnant, so I feel like I have the right to fuss.” 

Jemma let the ghost of a smile stretch her lips. She still stubbornly sat down, and Fitz immediately arranged the covers to cover her feet. When she looked up at him, though, Fitz felt himself flush. They stayed silent for a long time, simply looking at each other, but for the first time since she’d came back it wasn’t awkward. Fitz let himself stare unashamedly, his gaze flickering to the beautiful freckles sparsed all over her face. He knew for a fact that said freckles went down her cleavage, and he willed himself not to let his eyes drop down, looking back in her eyes again. She was looking at him looking at her, looking awfully relaxed about the whole thing.

“You kept the test” Jemma finally said, breaking the silence. “There’s one missing from the box. I imagine you’re the only one here who was interested in it.” 

Her right hand was now caressing her swollen belly in slow strokes. Fitz looked down at the movement, quietly watching her for a moment before answering.

“I did” he said, clearing his throat when he realized that his voice was tight. “I did. I kept it in my pocket for days.”

“When did you find out?”

“The tests?” he asked. When she nodded, he hummed. “Not long after you disappeared. I couldn’t… I couldn’t sleep, you know. Kept replaying the night you disappeared in my head, kept thinking about what would have happened if I had stayed instead of walking away like a coward.” 

“Fitz--” Jemma began, only to be stopped by the hand he raised in front of her.

“Jemma, please… Please let me finish.” 

She eventually nodded, even though he could see the way she pursed her lips. 

“When I found the test… it felt like my entire world was crumbling.” Fitz confessed. He ran a hand through his hair, looking up at the ceiling to prevent himself from crying again. “I felt so angry at myself for avoiding you during all that time, when we could have talked about what had happened. I knew you wouldn’t have kept this from me, and I’m pretty sure we would eventually have sat down and talked about all of this. But Jemma… I couldn’t regret that night. I don’t think either of us were ready to have a baby with each other so soon, but I’ve spent weeks after that night doubting myself before you were taken. I can’t… I can’t do this again now.” 

His eyes were wet with tears when he finally looked back at her, only to find her cheeks strained with wetness as well. 

“What are you saying, Fitz?” she asked in a small voice, both hands on her belly now. 

“I’m saying” he sniffed, taking a deep breath. “I’m saying that I want this baby with you, Jemma. I’m saying that I’m not nearly ready for this, especially not now that we’ve got this job at SHIELD and live in an underground secret base. I don’t know… I don’t want to crash into your life if you’re not ready for that, but… But I want to be a father for this child, if you’ll have me that is.” 

Jemma let out a sob. 

“Oh Fitz” she said, throwing herself in his arms. 

Fitz was just as quick to catch her, closing his arms around her as she pushed her face against his neck, wetting his skin with her tears. Fitz felt like his heart was about to explode as he hugged his entire world, after spending so many months afraid that he’d never see her again. The swell of her belly pushing against his torso as she all but straddled his legs awkwardly was weird, but far from unpleasant. Somehow, Fitz knew that he was precisely where he belonged. 

“Fitz” Jemma said as she pulled back again, wriggling a little as she found a more comfortable position. Fitz crossed his legs on the bed, facing her without putting too much distance between their bodies. The way her belly pushed in the open space between them was weirdly poetic, and Fitz closed his fists to prevent himself from reaching out. The last thing he wanted was for Jemma to be uncomfortable. “I want you to be honest with me” Jemma kept going, raising a shaky hand towards Fitz’s face.

“Always” he replied truthfully. 

The contact of her warm hand against his cheek felt like heaven, and he leaned into the touch. 

“Do you… What about us?” she asked finally. 

Fitz’s stomach dropped. He’d promised her not to lie, but he had no idea where she stood when it came to the both of them. He loved her, of course he did, and he didn’t remember ever stopping. But he had no idea if she shared the same feelings, after everything that happened.

“What do you want, Jemma?” he eventually asked. 

She bit her lip. “I want you.” 

Fitz felt his heart race in his chest, so loud he was sure she could hear it. “Want me? As in…” 

“A relationship. That night we spent together… I couldn’t stop thinking about it you know? Even before I knew I was pregnant, it was everything I could think about. How right it had felt, and how much I loved you.” 

This time, Fitz let out an audible gasp. 

“You love me?” he asked, voice wobbly. 

“Yeah, Fitz. I love you, so much.” 

He blinked away a few tears. “You already know how much I love you Jemma. It hasn’t changed a single bit since the bus, the bottom of the ocean and ever since.” 

He barely had time to finish talking before Jemma closed the distance between their mouths, pushing their lips together. It felt like coming home, the taste and shape of her lips familiar as they moved in tandem, bodies angling themselves towards each other. Fitz couldn’t help but smile as her baby bump pushed against his torso, and when they broke apart just enough to breathe, he slid down a hand between their bellies to caress it. 

“I can’t believe you’re here” he whispered, worry creasing his brows once again. “I thought I had lost you forever.” 

“You found me, Fitz” Jemma replied with a small smile, kissing the tip of his nose. “You found us. I knew you would.”

“I was so scared, you know? I thought… I knew you had to be somewhere, and the more time passed the more I imagined you giving birth on your own on an unknown planet.” 

Jemma sighed, pushing her forehead against Fitz’s neck as he managed to move them both around so that his back was against the wooden headboard, Jemma tucked by his side. 

“I imagined myself giving birth on Maveth multiple times, too” she confessed, catching Fitz’s hand to entwine their fingers. “I was prepared, you know? But all I could think about was how you’d never get to see your baby, if I was stuck there with Will forever.” 

Fitz frowned. “I missed so much, Jemma. I wish… I wish I could have been there for all of it.” 

She pulled back just enough to be able to look at him in the eyes, smiling. 

“You will, now.”

“But” he started, biting the inside of his cheeks “I’ll never get to be there when the baby moved for the first time. I’ll never get to be there to see your body change, and to be by your side as you had to go through what you went through on Maveth alone. I was away, just like my dad when he left.” 

Jemma shut him up with a kiss immediately, cradling his head as she bore her gaze into his. 

“You listen to me, Leopold Fitz” she said fiercely. “You are nothing like your father, nor will you ever be. During all the time I’ve spent on Maveth wondering what it would have been like to be there with you through this pregnancy, I’ve never once asked myself if you’d have made a great father. I know you will, because you are a amazing, kind and wonderful man with a huge heart and you love as fiercely as you solve math problems.” 

She stopped talking to take a deep breath, calming her rushing heart. Her fingers tightened on Fitz’s, her soft skin acting like a balm over his heart as he once again relished on the fact that she was here with him.

“I never once thought about the fact that you were like your father, because I know you’re not. I love you, Fitz, and I know you’ll be a wonderful dad. I cannot… I cannot give you back those moments you lost, and I’m so deeply sorry about that. But from now on, you and I? We’re gonna create new ones, just for the two of us.” Jemma stopped, glancing down at her belly. “This baby’s gonna be here soon, and we’re gonna have enough to figure out by this point.” 

Looking down at her belly as well, Fitz felt a smile stretch his lips. Now that he was there, with Jemma in her bedroom, it felt almost surreal to think that he was going to be a dad so very soon. He should have felt anxious, even scared at the thought when he’d learned not so long ago that he’d soon have a baby, but there was nothing but love as he held Jemma’s hands in his. Somehow, it felt almost right to be there with her, looking down at the new life they’d created together. The amount of love Fitz felt for Jemma was indescribable, but he’d never figured he could love anyone else the same amount. But there she was, his daughter who wasn’t even born yet, and his heart felt like it could burst with contempt.

“Maybe tonight” he finally said, squeezing Jemma’s hand almost shily “we could just enjoy this.” 

Her smile was the only answered he needed. This time when their lips met again, he parted them to allow her access to his mouth. They kissed, slowly and unhurried, settling down on the bed as they did so. When they parted for breath, their forehead touching, Fitz’s fingers slid down between their bodies to rest against the swell of Jemma’s belly. 

“I’m not gonna tell you I’m not terrified” Jemma whispered, her breath caressing Fitz’s mouth. “But I’m slightly less scared when I’m with you.” 

Under Fitz’s palm, their daughter moved, and they smiled. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You can find me on twitter @/keptinonzebridg!

**Author's Note:**

> you can find me on twitter @/keptinonzebridg!! x


End file.
